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TOKYO, Jan 9 (Reuters): A U.S. nuclear submarine and a Japanese tanker collided in the Arabian Sea, but there were no injuries or oil leaks, officials at the tanker's owner said on Tuesday.
The collision occurred around 1915 GMT on Monday, they said. The tanker had eight Japanese and 16 Philippine crew members.
A Japanese Defence Ministry spokesman said it was investigating the incident, which involved a ship belonging to Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. carrying oil for Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K..
A Kawasaki Kisen spokesman said there had been no injuries and no oil leaked from the vessel, and a Japanese Transport Ministry spokesman said the ship was still able to move.
“I am very relieved” there were no injuries or oil leak, Japanese Transport Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba told reporters.
A spokeswoman for the shipping firm said the very large crude carrier Mogamigawa had been headed for Singapore from the Gulf and would stop at the United Arab Emirates to check the extent of any damage.
Commander Kevin Aandahl of the U.S. Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain confirmed that “an incident took place between one of our subs and a Japanese merchant ship”, but said it would be a while before he could make other details public.
