Sub Commander Apologizes; Blame Shifts to Technician

P E A R L   H A R B O R, Hawaii, March 9 -- Cmdr. Scott Waddle met privately with families of the victims who perished in the deadly collision between the USS Greeneville submarine and a Japanese fishing trawler.

Sources inside the room tell ABCNEWS Waddle offered a tearful apology and that Japanese family members of those aboard the trawler, the Ehime Maru, also wept. In a Reuters report, a woman noticed that the commander "appeared in the room and bowed and tears fell to the floor."

The meeting came at the close of the fourth day of the Navy's ongoing Court of Inquiry at the Pearl Harbor naval base.

Waddle had attempted to apologize to the victims' families during the proceedings earlier in the day. But the meeting was postponed until the end of the day's session so that all of the Japanese family members could be present.

Nine Japanese who were aboard the Ehime Maru when it was hit by the Greeneville just south of Pearl Harbor one month ago today are missing and presumed dead.

"We really wanted him to apologize and he did so today," said Ryosuke Terata, who lost his 17-year-old son on the boat. "As far as his apology is concerned, I don't think we are going to push this any stronger."

Laying Blame

Questioning has centered around why the sub's officers did not get the key information that a ship appeared to be about 2 miles from the Greeneville before it surfaced.

The bulk of Thursday's hearings centered on the role of Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick Seacrest, the sub's fire control technician. Attorneys said that Seacrest, 34, failed to relay critical information to Cmdr. Waddle prior to the collision.

"That's one of the things that could have changed history," said Admiral Charles Griffiths, who is in charge of the Navy's initial investigation.

Six minutes before the accident, Seacrest thought one of the ships he was tracking was about 9 miles from the sub. Only 15 seconds later, Seacrest reworked the data, and the computer placed the ship some 2 miles away — though it is generally accepted these analyses are not always accurate.