A Japanese military submarine collided with a civilian vessel during exercises in waters off southern Japan on Tuesday, defense officials said. The Maritime Self-Defense Forces submarine grazed against an unidentified civilian cargo ship during surfacing exercises about 30 miles off the southeastern coast of Miyazaki on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, a defense agency spokesman said on condition of anonymity by protocol.
No injuries were reported among crew members of the submarine Asashio, but officials have found a dent in the vessel's topside, the spokesman said. He said the submarine apparently hit the vessel's hull while surfacing. The number of crew members and the direction the submarine was heading could not be released, he said.
The spokesman said details of the civilian vessel, which was moving northward, were not immediately known. The vessel might not have noticed the incident due to the minor impact, he added. |