Equipment and environmental reasons, not human error, were to blame for the loss of three submariners on Dec. 21 last year, the navy said yesterday.
The navy would not punish any of the Hai Hu’s (海虎) crew after an investigation determined that the captain was correct in sending crew to retrieve a safety buoy, it said in a news release.
Three crew members — a master chief petty officer surnamed Lin (林) and two petty officers surnamed Yen (顏) and Chang (張) — are still unaccounted for after being swept from the submarine’s deck by a wave while trying to retrieve the buoy.
Photo: CNA
The navy’s statement came after retired navy Captain Wang Jyh-perng (王志鵬) called for the captain of the Hai Hu to be punished.
In a report published by the Chinese-language United Daily News, Wang said that the Hai Hu’s captain had made the “wrong decision” in attempting to retrieve the safety buoy and should be held responsible for the loss of the three crew members.
However, the navy said the captain of the Hai Hu made the correct decision based on the “maintenance implementation measures,” which call for regular checks of the submarine’s equipment.
After an initial probe, the navy said that sudden waves and deformed buckles tethering crew members to the deck were likely to blame.
At about noon on Dec. 21, while the submarine was operating below the ocean’s surface, the Hai Hu’s crew heard “abnormal sounds” coming from the rear of the vessel, which they eventually identified as coming from a safety buoy, Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Wu Li-ping (吳立平) said on Dec. 26.
The buoy was floating outside the submarine after the wooden cover of its compartment in the vessel fell off for reasons the navy has yet to determine.
Fearing that the 300m steel cable the buoy was attached to could damage the submarine’s propeller, the captain brought the submarine to the surface and sent four crew members, who were all wearing life jackets and were tethered to the deck by safety harnesses, to the ship’s deck to recover the buoy, Wu said.
Two of those on the deck were swept into the ocean because the buckles connecting their harnesses to the line were contorting under the stress of the weather conditions and came loose, Wu said.
A third crew member who was also swept off the deck was rescued, as his safety buckle was functioning properly, Wu said.
After hearing that crew members had fallen overboard, the ship’s weapons systems chief went onto the deck, but also fell into the sea, Wu said, adding that he was quickly saved.
The captain then sent six rescue team members to save the two crew members who had gone missing.
One of the six was thrown overboard by a rogue wave and went missing, Wu said.
The three missing crew members have yet to be located, despite the navy sending vessels out more than 1,500 times and aircraft out more than 600 times on search-and-rescue missions.
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