Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Scott Waddle, who is to arrive in Japan on Saturday, was at the helm of the nuclear-powered USS Greeneville when it surfaced beneath the Ehime Maru on Feb. 9, 2001, sinking it off the coast of Hawai'i.

Nine of the 35 Uwajima Fisheries High School students, teachers and crew aboard the training vessel died.

Waddle had vowed to meet the victims' families in Ehime prefecture, about 420 miles southwest of Tokyo, before retiring last October. However, the Navy said officials had indicated the time wasn't right, and Waddle postponed the visit.

"In the months since I first made my promise, the deep pain that this delay has caused for the people of Ehime prefecture and the families of the victims of the tragedy has weighed on my mind every day," he wrote to Japanese media in a fax obtained by The Associated Press.

"I hope that finally keeping my promise to all the victims will somehow ease the pain of those who are suffering."

Kyodo news agency said Waddle sent a separate letter to prefectural officials.

Waddle plans to lay flowers at a memorial for the victims on the high school campus Sunday, and is expected to meet the victims' families for the first time to pay his condolences some time later.

Waddle was reprimanded by a U.S. military court of inquiry, which decided against a court-martial. He was allowed to retire at full rank and pension, raising criticism in Japan that he got off lightly.

Last month, the families of 33 people who were aboard the trawler agreed to a reported $13 million compensation package from the U.S. Navy. Negotiations between the Navy and two other families are continuing separately.

In April, the Ehime government agreed to $11.47 million in compensation from the U.S. Navy to cover the costs of the vessel, equipment, cargo, crew salaries, mental health care for the survivors and the costs for a memorial service.