Navy may widen Greeneville probe

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say reports of serious crew errors aboard the USS Greeneville right before the submarine struck a Japanese fishing vessel raised the possibility that the Navy's formal investigation could spread beyond three officers already named as subjects of the probe.

The USS Greeneville is in drydock at Pearl Harbor for repairs and for inspection by Navy and NTSB investigators. Associated Press

The investigation could include a sailor whose job was to plot positions of nearby vessels and possibly other people, officials said.

The Washington Times and The Washington Post reported yesterday that the enlisted man, known as the sub's "fire control technician,'' did not inform the skipper that sonar readings indicated a surface vessel was closing to within 2,000 yards.

The Times, quoting an unidentified Navy source, said if the ship's estimated range had been conveyed to the sub's captain, Cmdr. Scott Waddle, he would have conducted his periscope search of the surface differently. Shortly after Waddle did a periscope sweep and reportedly saw nothing problematic, the Greeneville went ahead with an emergency surfacing drill and accidentally rammed the Ehime Maru Feb. 9.

The ship sank in 2,000 feet of water off Honolulu. The boat was on a trip to teach Japanese high school students commercial fishing, and four of the missing are students.

Meanwhile, the Bush administration is sending a senior Navy admiral to Tokyo next week with a presidential letter and an apology for the incident.

Adm. William J. Fallon, the vice chief of naval operations, was named "special envoy to Japan'' and will arrive in Tokyo with a letter from President Bush to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.

Mori has called it "extremely deplorable'' that civilians were at two control stations aboard the USS Greeneville when the submarine hit the fishing boat.

Fallon will "explain the progress of the ongoing investigation,'' the Navy said in a statement yesterday, and will discuss prospects for salvaging the Japanese vessel.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, acting in response to the accident, yesterday ordered an indefinite moratorium on permitting civilian visitors to operate any item of military equipment, including ships, aircraft and vehicles, "when such operation could cause, or reasonably be perceived as causing, an increased safety risk.''

Exempted are contractors and other civilian workers who must operate military equipment as a part of their official duties.

Two civilians were at control stations on the Greeneville at the time of the accident, although it has not been established that they caused it. Under the new Rumsfeld policy, civilians would be allowed aboard a submarine but could not be seated at positions such as the helm or the ballast controls.

"This moratorium is not designed to restrict civilian visitors from observing their military; it is designed to ensure their visits are conducted as safely as possible,'' Rumsfeld wrote, not mentioning the sub accident specifically.

Navy and Defense Department officials would not comment yesterday on the newspaper reports about crew errors. The Times said its report was based on a confidential investigation report prepared by an admiral, portions of which were provided to the newspaper. The Post said its account was based on a three-page statement that Waddle gave to Navy investigators who came aboard the Greeneville the day of the accident.

Waddle; Lt. Cmdr. Gerald K. Pfeifer, the submarine's executive officer; and Lt. Michael J. Coen, the officer of the deck at the time of the accident, are subjects of a formal Navy investigation, known as a court of inquiry. It is to begin March 5 at the Pearl Harbor naval station. Waddle has been relieved of command.

The Times reported today that Capt. Bob Brandhuber, who was on board the sub as host to the civilians, also will be scrutinized by the court at the request of his boss, the commander of the Pacific submarine force, Rear Adm. Albert Konetzni Jr.

Charles Gittins, a Washington-based civilian attorney who will represent Waddle at the court of inquiry, would not discuss the case yesterday.

Officials speaking on condition of anonymity said Adm. Thomas Fargo, who ordered the court of inquiry based on the results of a preliminary investigation, could add other members of the crew as subjects, including the fire control technician.

The Post reported the sailor ``arbitrarily moved'' the plotted position of the Japanese ship to 9,000 yards from the submarine, even though he had calculated that the two ships were only 2,000 yards apart. He did not alert Waddle, the newspaper said.

The sailor told investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board that he stopped plotting sonar contacts before the accident because he was distracted by civilians in the control room.

It remains to be determined whether the presence of 16 civilians aboard the Greeneville contributed to mistakes that led to the accident.

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