USS Connecticut Attack Sub Collides With Object in South China Sea

The nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine, the USS Connecticut, ran into some trouble while on maneuvers in the South China Sea according to the Associated Press.

All the news outlets I checked with claimed the submarine "struck an object," but the object has not been identified. Navy officials informed the Associated Press it was not another submarine, but it could have been a sunken vessel, a sunken container, or an unidentified floating object.

Unfortunately, there were some injuries on board but none were life-threatening according to a statement from US Pacific Fleet. After the collision, the sub headed toward port at Guam. The US Navy claims the sub, which carries up to 100 personnel, was conducting routine

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operations.

The USS Connecticut is a Seawolf-class nuclear submarine operated by the United States Navy and built at 'Electric Boat in Groton. The sub was launched on September 1, 1997. Its homeport is at Kitsap Naval Base in Bremerton, Washington.

Here's a fun fact about the USS Connecticut that took place in April 2003. The sub surfaced through the Arctic ice at the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station where she came under attack by a polar bear which gnawed on her rudder for a while before disengaging.

On March 31, 2004, the USS Connecticut was headed out to sea in support of the War on Terrorism as part of the Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group and then returned to New London as a band played, "The Boys Are Back In Town" as the sub pulled into port.