Anger After U.S. Sub Sinks Japanese Boat

Feb. 10 -- As rescuers continue to search for nine Japanese still missing after their fishing boat was sunk by a surfacing U.S. Navy submarine, officials are trying to understand how the accident could have happened.

Nine Japanese are still missing — four 17-year-old students, two teachers, and three crew members.

Twenty-six survivors were found stranded amid debris Friday, huddled in three life rafts.

The 499-ton Japanese trawler was carrying 35 people, including 13 high-school fisheries students and two teachers, when it was hit and critically damaged Friday by a 6,900-ton U.S. Navy attack sub about nine miles from Honolulu's Pearl Harbor, officials said.

The Japanese boat sank in just minutes, leaving only an oil slick, rafts, and scattered debris by the time Coast Guard rescuers arrived on the scene.

Navy officials have begun looking into the cause of the accident and today extended apologies to the families of the victims.

"While it's not yet clear how this accident occurred, it is both tragic andregrettable," said Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, at a news conference in Hawaii today. "I would like to express my apologies to all of those involved."

Sub Was Practicing an ‘Emergency Blow’

The USS Greeneville was off the northern Hawaiian island of Oahu, practicing a procedure known as a "emergency blow" when the accident happened.

In the maneuver, the submarine bursts quickly through the surface at a sharp angle. When practicing it, the submarine first comes to periscope depth, about 55 feet below the surface, and scans the area for nearby boats and ships.

When the area is determined to be clear of obstacles, the submarine dives to several hundred feet and levels off for a few minutes before coming up blind at a sharp angle.

Navy officials say the submarine caught the Japanese fishing boat right in the middle and ripped it in two.

The Japanese boat, Ehime Maru, was on a training exercise observing tuna stocks in the area, according to news reports in Tokyo. It was from the Japanese port of Uwajima.