NEW YORK — The commander of the submarine that collided with a Japanese fishing boat says the accident is “a burden I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”

In an interview with People magazine scheduled to be on newsstands Friday, Navy Cmdr. Scott Waddle recounted the moment he realized the USS Greeneville hit the other vessel during an emergency surfacing maneuver Feb. 9.

“When I saw the Ehime Maru sinking, through the periscope, after we hit, a part of me died,” Waddle said in his first published interview since the accident. “Then I saw (men) in the lifeboats. They told me they had gotten out all (of them.)

“When I heard from the Coast Guard that nine men were unaccounted for, I felt as if my very heart had been ripped out of my chest.”

Thirty-five people were aboard the Ehime Maru when the Greeneville struck it from underneath while conducting emergency surfacing practice off Honolulu. The vessel, operated by a Japanese high school for aspiring commercial fisherman, sank within minutes.

Nine people — four 17-year-old students, two teachers and three crew members — were never found.

Waddle, his second-in-command, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer, and the officer of the deck, Lt. j.g. Michael Coen, are subjects of a formal Navy investigation set to begin Monday at Pearl Harbor.

Navy officials have said the officers could face criminal charges. Waddle has been relieved of his command.

At issue is why the Greeneville command was unaware of the presence of the other vessel and why Waddle, during a periscope check conducted before the submarine surfaced, did not see the Ehime Maru.

Waddle’s father, Dan Waddle, told People his son called just hours after the accident and maintained he followed standard procedures.

“He said, `Dad, I checked with the periscope, the first officer checked, the sonar man checked. There was nothing.’ He told me, `Dad, I did what I was supposed to do. I went right by the book.”’

Nevertheless, Waddle told the magazine the accident “is a burden I will carry with me for the rest of my life.” The collision “was an accident,” he said. “But my submarine caused the accident.”

“I know the honor the Japanese families possess. I die inside knowing their suffering,” he is quoted as saying.

Survivors and relatives of the missing had demanded an apology from Waddle in the days following the accident, but the commander kept quiet until this week. On Sunday, Waddle’s attorney released a statement in which the Naval officer expressed his regret for the accident.

On Tuesday, Waddle met with two Japanese officials and offered a teary-eyed apology. He also delivered letters of apology to be given to the families of the nine missing.