American nuclear submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) of the
"Sea Wolf" class collided with an "unknown object" while diving
in the waters of the Asia-Pacific region, as a result of which 11
sailors were injured. The press service of the US Pacific Fleet
issued an official press release on the incident, according to
which "Sea Wolf" during a dive in the afternoon of October 2
in the international waters of the Indo-Pacific region hit hard
against an unidentified object. Alexander Neill, a Singaporean
defense and security expert, told the BBC that the number of
injuries sustained in the collision suggests that the submarine
was likely "hitting something big" and "moving very fast."
The incident, he said, was "unusual" and showed how the area
is riddled with military activity. The South China Sea is
becoming more and more crowded with naval vessels from a
number of different countries. Although there were many
demonstrations of force on the surface ships, we have not seen
a high level of activity below the surface before, the expert
emphasized.
According to a Business Insider source, a potential point of
interest for USS Connecticut (SSN 22) was most likely the
Chinese Yulin Naval Base on Hainan Island, where the PRC's
submarines are based. This means that the "Sea Wolf" lay at
the bottom, waiting for a hostile submarine to enter the sea
in order to start pursuing it. Another American Internet
resource Associated Press called the mission of the American
submarine SSN 22 "normal" for the region. Say, the US Navy
is traditionally on duty at the Chinese and Russian submarine
bases in order to prevent their invisible exit to the sea. Given
that the seabed near Hainan Island is very difficult, the
"Sea Wolf", for sure, was engaged in mapping the relief in
an attempt to understand through which hollows the PRC
submarines slip out of the Yulin base.
