Sonar's Failure To Notice Caused Turkish Ship To Hit US Submarine

A Turkish-flagged cargo ship hit a US nuclear submarine in the Persian Gulf yesterday morning. USS Philadelphia (SSN 690)The submarine and the ship are reported to have been slightly damaged in the accident in which there were no casualties. The accident that occurred in Bahrein's open sea is thought to have been caused by the failure of the Turkish ship's sonar's failure to locate the military submarine. The Turkish-flagged M/V Yaso Aysen, a cargo ship carrying 20 Turkish crew hit the US submarine "USS Philadelphia (SSN 690)" that was traveling towards Bahrein. The submarine that hit the Turkish ship from port side caused some damage to 35 meters of the 190-meter ship. The estimated cost of the damage to the ship is about $300,000. The accident reportedly occurred three hours after the cargo ship departed from the maintenance shipyard in the Asry town of Bahrein.It is stated that the accident was caused by the sonar's failure to see the submarine. Authorities point out that the kind of dye called "kriyt" which is used on military ships makes it hard or totally prevents these ships' being noticed by sonar in commercial ships. It is stated that the USS Philadelphia submarine involved in the accident belongs to the US fleet that is in the region taking part in the fight against weapon and drug smuggling. Turkish Undersecretary for Maritime Affairs General Director for Maritime Transport Ali Kurumahmut, in a statement he made following the collision, said that no casualties were reported and that they received information that the ship entered Bahrein's Asry Shipyard for repair. US Navy 5th Fleet spokesperson Jeffrey Breslau said that the accident took place in open sea 50 km to the northeastern Bahrein.