Associated Press

PEARL HARBOR — The failure of USS Greeneville Cmdr. Scott Waddle to detect a Japanese trawler through his periscope led to the fatal collision between the two ships, the head of the Pacific Fleet’s submarine force testified today.

“This is the meat of the matter: The commanding officer ... has the absolute obligation to make sure the area is free,” said Waddle’s boss, Rear Adm. Albert Konetzni. “That’s what caused this collision, plus the fact that the stars and the moon and a few other things weren’t going right.”

Konetzni took the stand as a Navy court of inquiry into the Feb. 9 accident entered its second week. He called Waddle “one of my best friends,” but also squarely placed responsibility for the accident on the commander’s shoulders.

“I hold him accountable,” Konetzni said, although he added under questioning from Waddle’s attorneys that he doesn’t believe the skipper acted criminally negligent.

The investigative hearing could lead to courts-martial of Waddle; the Greeneville’s executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer; and the officer of the deck, Lt. j.g. Michael Coen.

The submarine was demonstrating a rapid-surfacing drill for 16 civilian guests when it rammed the Ehime Maru and sent it plunging to the ocean floor. The vessel, carrying 35 people, was on an expedition to teach high school students the commercial fishing trade. Nine people, including four students, were killed.

A Navy investigator testified last week that several factors contributed to the accident, including a communications barrier created by the civilian guests being crammed into the control room.

Konetzni dismissed that, however, insisting the civilians “had nothing to do with this — not a thing.”

“Joy ride?” he scoffed. “Forget it.”

Voicing his support for civilian ride-alongs, Konetzni noted that thousands of guests have toured submarines safely prior to this accident. He called the public relations program critical for “understanding what our sailors are doing on the line to defend freedom. We need to continue these.”

He admitted, however, that this particular tour probably shouldn’t have gone forward because a training mission it was to coincide with was canceled. Waddle, after conferring with his squadron commander, deemed the training unnecessary but decided not to cancel the tour.

The Pacific Fleet had 21 at-sea tours for 307 guests on fast-attack submarines like the Greeneville last year, an average of 15 guests per trip, according to Navy estimates. Emergency surfacing blows were conducted during 17 of those tours, Konetzni said.

Konetzni said the collision comes down to Waddle’s inability to see the Ehime Maru through his periscope and the fact that sonar operators didn’t have enough time to properly analyze data tracking surface vessels.

Coen and Waddle performed an 80-second periscope search at depths of 60 and 58 feet. Testimony has shown periscope scans are typically done in three minutes and that the officers had several more feet available on the periscope that they didn’t use.

“You’d better get as much pole out there as you possibly can, because that’s your obligation,” Konetzni said, adding that more time would have allowed sonar analysts to determine a vessel was close.

“It’s a team endeavor, and when the team doesn’t work right, bad things happen,” he said. “Time allows integration of the team.”

Konetzni choked back tears several times throughout his testimony, particularly when one of Waddle’s military lawyers, Lt. Cmdr. Kimberlie Young, assured him the commander would “give his own life to bring back those missing crewmen.”

“I know that,” the admiral said, almost breaking down.

The Greenville’s fire control technician had data showing another ship was close but never reported it. He told investigators he assumed his data was incorrect when Coen and Waddle reported seeing no other boats during the periscope search. He also said the civilians blocked his access to the officers.
The technician, Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick Seacrest, and the sonar room supervisor have been appointed military attorneys at their request, the Navy said Monday. The three admirals presiding over the court of inquiry could name additional parties to the investigation at any time.

Also under scrutiny during the hearing has been Capt. Robert Brandhuber, Konetzni’s chief of staff. Brandhuber accompanied the civilians aboard Greeneville and was the senior officer on the ship. The court panel has questioned whether he should have sensed something was amiss and stepped in.

Brandhuber testified that he was in the back of the control room when the ship went to periscope depth and during the surfacing maneuver. He said he felt in his gut the crew was moving fast, but he didn’t think they were being unsafe.

“I don’t feel good at all about what happened, and I wish I could have done anything to make it not happen,” he said. “But, sir, I don’t believe that the actions of the ship were so unreasonable that it should’ve necessitated that I step in.”