| Posted on August 2, 2001 |
Ship arrives to lift Ehime Maru from ocean floor
The heavy lift ship Rockwater 2, the key player in the Navy's $40 million attempt to raise the sunken Ehime Maru from waters off O'ahu, arrived without fanfare at Honolulu Harbor yesterday. |
| Posted on July 2, 2001 |
Divers study Ehime Maru's sister ship
Navy divers took a dry run through the tight corridors of a sister ship of the Ehime Maru yesterday, learning where to search for nine people lost when the Japanese fishery training vessel was accidentally rammed and sunk by a Navy submarine surfacing off Diamond Head in February. |
| Posted on June 24, 2001 |
Uwajima to resume fisheries training off Hawai'i
The Japanese high school that lost nine people in one of Hawai'i's worst maritime accidents four months ago is preparing to send 14 more students and two instructors to Hawai'i waters. |
| Posted on June 17, 2001 |
Ehime Maru recovery move gets Navy OK
Having decided that moving the Ehime Maru to shallow water will not harm the ocean, the Navy today told relatives of those still trapped inside the sunken ship that the recovery of their remains will begin within a few weeks. |
| Posted on June 10, 2001 |
Ehime Maru move seems likely
Federal marine wildlife officials say moving the fuel-laden Ehime Maru to shallow water presents few risks to the environment and they expect approval of the ambitious plan this week from the admiral in charge of the Navy's U.S. Pacific Fleet. |
| Posted on June 7, 2001 |
Hawai'i pays respects to Ehime Maru home
Music united nearly 200 Uwajima Fisheries High School students with 100 children from a Kamehameha Schools chorus today, as a Hawaiian contingent including Gov. Ben Cayetano visited southwestern Japan to pay respects in the harbor town that was home to the Ehime Maru. |
| Posted on May 31, 2001 |
Families get good news on Ehime Maru salvage
Uwajima Mayor Hirohisa Ishibashi has been waiting for good news ever since the Feb. 9 collision of the USS Greeneville and the Ehime Maru. Yesterday, he had two things to smile about. One was a gift of more than $150,000 from the Japan-America Society of Hawai'i. The other was President Bush's budget request asking Congress for $36 million for the recovery of the victims' bodies. |
| Posted on May 12, 2001 |
Ehime Maru recovery study under review
Navy officials met with federal and state agencies yesterday to review portions of a study on the potential impacts of moving the sunken Japanese fisheries training vessel Ehime Maru. |
| Posted on May 11, 2001 |
Ehime Maru families demanding 'whole truth'
Lawyers and family members of those hurt or killed in the USS Greeneville collision Feb. 9 launched a campaign yesterday to pressure the United States on revealing more information about its responsibility for the accident that killed nine Japanese men and boys. |
| Posted on May 10, 2001 |
Japanese, Navy discuss reparations over Ehime Maru
U.S. Navy officers met with Japanese officials and lawyers yesterday to discuss compensation for survivors and relatives of those killed when the USS Greeneville sank a Japanese fisheries training vessel off O'ahu. |
| Posted on May 8, 2001 |
Navy mulls moving Ehime Maru to waters off airport
Salvage experts want to move the Ehime Maru to waters off the Honolulu Airport's reef runway, but are still considering two alternative sites off the 'Ewa coast, the Navy said yesterday. |
| Posted on April 25, 2001 |
Admiral troubled by military's 'lack of accountability'
The three admirals who investigated the fatal collision between a fast-attack submarine and a Japanese fishing boat sometimes used blistering language in criticizing some of the officers and sailors aboard the USS Greeneville, but left their ultimate punishment and their future to the submarine community. |
| Posted on April 24, 2001 |
Waddle sees career in Navy come to an end
The once-promising career of Navy Cmdr. Scott Waddle ended yesterday at a disciplinary hearing that found him guilty of dereliction of duty and negligent hazarding of the USS Greeneville on the day it accidentally sank a Japanese fishing vessel, but allowed him to retire with full benefits.
Fargo says collision was result of many factors
The Pacific Fleet's commander concluded yesterday that a U.S. attack submarine's fatal collision with a Japanese fishing vessel was the result of faulty sonar and periscope searches, poor communication among key crew members, and distractions by civilian guests.
'Collision was solely the fault of USS Greeneville'
Excerpts from the statement of Adm. Thomas Fargo on the findings of the court of inquiry.
The officers responsible and the court of inquiry's findings
Here are the officers and crew members aboard the USS Greeneville who have been held responsible by the Navy court of inquiry for events leading up to the crash with the Ehime Maru on Feb. 9
Few in Uwajima understand how Greeneville skipper escaped trial
News yesterday that Scott Waddle, the U.S. submarine commander responsible for the accident that left nine dead, would receive nothing harsher than a career-ending letter of reprimand reverberated with the same force as an earthquake in the southwestern Japanese harbor town of Uwajima. |
| Posted on April 23, 2001 |
Waddle likely to find lucrative civilian job
Even though nine people died when his submarine accidentally rammed a Japanese fishing vessel, the former captain of the USS Greeneville, whose military career is over because of the tragedy, will probably find a good job soon after leaving the Navy. |
| Posted on April 21, 2001 |
Sub's skipper summoned to admiral's mast
Cmdr. Scott Waddle has been summoned to an admiral's mast at 8 a.m. Monday, when he will learn his punishment for his role in the collision of the USS Greeneville with the Ehime Maru, Waddle's attorney said yesterday. |
| Posted on April 17, 2001 |
Waddle retirement could anger Japanese
The possibility that former USS Greeneville skipper Scott Waddle could retire and collect his pension instead of facing criminal charges for a deadly collision is rekindling anger among families of the victims in Japan. |
| Posted on April 15, 2001 |
Waddle court-martial unlikely, reports say
The Navy court of inquiry into the sinking of the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru has recommended that Cmdr. Scott Waddle, former captain of the submarine USS Greeneville, not be court-martialed for the sinking, several news organizations have reported. |
| Posted on April 10, 2001 |
Families consider Ehime Maru claims
The U.S. Navy is sending a team to meet today in the harbor town of Uwajima, Japan, with families of those killed two months ago when the USS Greeneville struck a training vessel from Uwajima Fisheries High School. |
| Posted on April 1, 2001 |
In depth: Quick decisions, enduring pain
The Feb. 9 collision of the USS Greeneville and the Ehime Maru left nine Japanese boys and men dead, tarnished U.S. military careers and created tension between the United States and japan. Advertiser staff writers Tanya Bricking in Uwajima, Japan, and Dan Nakaso at Pearl Harbor's court of inquiry, through interviews, naval court testimony, investigators' transcripts and other ducuments, detail what went wrong that day and how it changed lives forever in a Japanese harbor town. |
Posted on March 27, 2001
'Stonewalling' in sub case a 'fiasco'
The U.S. Navy's "stonewalling" in the aftermath of the submarine USS Greeneville's Feb. 9 collision with the Japanese trawler Ehine Maru was a "public relations fiasco" built on the Navy's apparent mistrust of Americans, says a 37-year veteran in one of the service's respected journals.
Posted on March 25, 2001
Sub skipper 'full of contradictions'
In many ways, the different sides of Cmdr. Scott Waddle's persona were shaped by the Navy that gave him an academy ring, then disillusioned him on one of his first submarine tours.
Posted on March 24, 2001
Adviser expected Waddle's testimony
When Cmdr. Scott Waddle testified Tuesday without the legal protection — a dramatic moment on the inquiry's final day — it was part of a plan, his top legal advisor said yesterday.
Posted on March 23, 2001
Families silently mourn missing sons
The 49th day since the Ehime Maru sank and claimed nine lives — a significant day in Buddhist mourning tradition — will come and go next week with no memorial in the hometown of most of its victims. There is a sense in Uwajima that everything is on hold.
Posted on March 22, 2001
Pain, anger linger in Ehime Maru town
The haze that hangs in the air here matches the mood that has been keeping the people of Uwajima in a fog for weeks. The southwestern Japan town of 65,000 residents will welcome families returning from Hawai'i today, but the void left by those missing since the sinking of the Ehime Maru has taken its toll.
Waddle's friendliness impressed civilians
When Cmdr. Scott Waddle's civilian guests came aboard the USS Greeneville, he said they probably wouldn't be able to keep his crew — he referred to them as his "shipmates" — from bragging about their fast-attack submarine.
Interviews recount sub crash aftermath
The USS Greeneville had just smashed into the Ehime Maru fishing boat, sending dozens of Japanese fishermen into the water, when frantic sailors asked their civilian guests whether any of them spoke Chinese.
Inquiry impresses families of victims
The first Monday in March, six family members nervously marched into a Pearl Harbor courtroom and angrily stared at USS Greeneville's captain.
Japanese families say 'thank you'
Relatives of the nine people killed when the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru sank Feb. 9 have issued a thank-you letter to the people of Hawai'i.
Hawai'i firm proposes sub vision technology
Hawai'i company Science & Technology International today will show a congressional subcommittee a new submarine anti-collision method, conceived in the wake of the Ehime Maru tragedy, that the company says could help prevent similar types of collisions.
Posted on March 21, 2001
Admirals grill sub skipper
Cmdr. Scott Waddle took the witness stand yesterday and withstood nearly six hours of blistering criticism and pointed questions about the way he ran the USS Greeneville as the naval court of inquiry drew to a close.
Japanese prime minister visits site of sinking
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori stood on a sightseeing boat and looked at the ocean that hid the sunken Ehime Maru. Afterward, he said the U.S. government should raise the ship.
Waddle calm, cool on witness stand
Cmdr. Scott Waddle took the witness stand to face a court he knew would not be friendly. His grasp of the facts was sharp. If he had done something wrong, he said so.
Colleagues say Waddle showed honor, arrogance
In the end, Cmdr. Scott Waddle's sense of duty demanded that he take the witness stand, fellow Navy officials said yesterday.
Widow says Waddle 'took safety lightly'
Family members of the victims seemed angry and uncertain about the day's events after Cmdr. Scott Waddle unexpectedly testified before the court.
Transcript of Cmdr. Waddle's testimony
Posted on March 20, 2001
Waddle ponders next move in inquiry
After 11 days of examination into what put a Navy submarine on a collision course with a Japanese fishing vessel, a military court abruptly suspended its investigation yesterday so the skipper of the USS Greeneville could ponder his next move.
Greeneville tech admits 'bit' of laziness
The counsel for the Navy's court of inquiry called the USS Greeneville's fire control technician of the watch "lazy" yesterday and accused him of failing to back up his captain and ignoring standing orders for reporting surface ships.
Mori to visit site of fatal collision this morning
Returning from presidential talks in Washington, D.C., Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is scheduled to pause in Honolulu today to visit the site of the Feb. 9 sinking of the Ehime Maru.
Victims' families exhausted, official reports
As the court of inquiry enters what could be its final day today, the eight family members from Japan are exhausted by the length of the trial, and several are sick, said Mizue Maeda, the lieutenant governor of Ehime prefecture who met with the families yesterday.
Posted on March 19, 2001
Sub technician to testify
The USS Greeneville crewman who has been much maligned during a Navy court of inquiry takes the witness stand this morning in a move that could seal his captain's future.
Posted on March 18, 2001
Inquiry's testimony centers on Waddle
As the second week of the court of inquiry drew to a close, the court moved closer to a solution, even as it found more evidence of what one admiral called sloppy management.
Posted on March 17, 2001
USS Greeneville violated rules, sonar man says
The USS Greeneville had been regularly violating Navy rules against unqualified sonar technicians tracking surface ships for at least 3 1/2 years, the submarine's sonar supervisor testified yesterday.
Widow writes of family's loss
The wife of Jun Nakata, a 33-year-old Japanese teacher who perished at sea on the Ehime Maru came forward yesterday to speak about the effect of the tragedy on her family.
Purpose of sub trip criticized
The three admirals sitting as a court of inquiry at Pearl Harbor turned their attention yesterday to the Navy's "Distinguished Visitor" submarine ride-along program.
Sonar watch practices scrutinized
In the wake of recent testimony on the USS Greeneville accident, the Pacific Fleet's submarine force commander on Thursday ordered all his skippers to report whether they have been complying with sonar watch requirements.
Posted on March 16, 2001
Greeneville skipper offers to testify
The commander of the USS Greeneville wants to tell the court of inquiry what happened the day his ship smashed into a Japanese fishing boat, but only if his words cannot be used against him, his attorney said in a letter to the Pacific Fleet commander.
Navy plan would tow Ehime Maru to depth of 90 feet
In the Navy's ambitious plan to retrieve bodies from the Ehime Maru, the Japanese fishing vessel would be moved from its current depth of 2,000 feet to a level well within the limits of recreational diving.
Graphic: Raising the Ehime Maru
Rescue effort risky, sub officer recalls
Lt. Cmdr. Tyler Meador described a search-and-rescue effort that weighed urgency against safety on Feb. 9. It was the first eyewitness account of an often-criticized response by the Greeneville crew.
Posted on March 15, 2001
Waddle's crew disputes possibility of fatal arrogance
Yesterday, members of Cmdr. Scott Waddle's crew extolled the command climate on his ship as one emphasizing safety and efficiency, but also camaraderie.
Apology tempers painful testimony
On a day that promised emotional testimony, the words that lingered most were the words of apology.
Waddle apologizes to Onishi
Cmdr. Scott Waddle met yesterday with Captain Hisao Onishi of the Ehime Maru to apologize for the Feb. 9 collision that took the lives of nine Japanese crew members, including four teenage boys.
Posted on March 14, 2001
Sub inquiry focuses on style of leadership
Nearly a week before the USS Greeneville crashed into the Ehime Maru fishing vessel, the submarine's navigator suggested that the captain give his junior officers more experience running the ship — a suggestion that was soundly rejected.
Ehime Maru's captain to testify today
The captain of the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru will take the witness stand for the first time this morning, and his words may be some of the most powerful spoken during a Navy court of inquiry.
'I didn't understand how it happened'
Capt. Robert Brandhuber looked through the No. 2 periscope aboard the USS Greeneville on Feb. 9 and saw wreckage and survivors in the ocean — "it was something I didn't want to see and never want to see again," Brandhuber testified yesterday.
Account of actual collision yet to be heard
After seven days of testimony and four eyewitness accounts, no one has yet to offer details about what happened inside the control room of the USS Greeneville at the moment it sliced through the hull of the Ehime Maru fishing boat.
Mori to visit accident site during stop in Hawai'i
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will visit Hawai'i next week after meeting with President Bush in Washington, a Foreign Ministry official said today.
Posted on March 13, 2001
Salvage would cost $40 million
Raising the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru is possible but would take six months and cost about $40 million, the Navy announced yesterday.
Sub fleet commander blames Greeneville skipper
The commander of the Pacific Fleet's submarine force criticized the actions of Cmdr. Scott Waddle while declaring, "I love this commanding officer, he's one of my best friends."
Officer admits he didn't speak up
Capt. Robert L. Brandhuber, chief of staff for the Pacific Fleet's submarine force, acknowledged his own mistakes on the day the USS Greeneville crashed into the Ehime Maru.
Waddle's boss says sub crews 'sell the Navy'
On the witness stand, Read Adm. Albert Konetzni Jr., the man submariners call "Big Al, the sailor's pal," took charge with a series of war stories, sharing his experiences in a booming voice.
Posted on March 11, 2001
Civilian sub visits under scrutiny
At Pearl Harbor's court of inquiry, where the actions of three crew members of the USS Greeneville are under scrutiny, there is another aspect of the sub tour under a microscope: the "distinguished visitors program."
Sub accident won't tarnish military, experts say
An accidental collision with a civilian surface vessel claimed nine lives. One of its best-trained submarine crews failed to communicate key information, the discovery of which could have prevented the accident.
Posted on March 10, 2001
Sub collision re-created
In a dramatic re-creation, a video simulation showed that the Ehime Maru clearly would have been visible by the submarine USS Greeneville had the Navy crew conducted a thorough periscope search.
Greeneville repairs will cost about $2 million
It will cost about $2 million to repair the submarine USS Greeneville, Navy officials said yesterday.
Posted on March 9, 2001
Greeneville skipper apologizes to families of victims
Cmdr. Scott Waddle's personal apology yesterday to relatives of those lost in the collision between the USS Greeneville and the Ehime Maru was a turning point for grieving families.
Admirals try to reconcile crew, collision
The admirals presiding over the court of inquiry into the fatal crash between a fast-attack submarine and a Japanese fishing boat yesterday offered the first glimpse into their concerns over the command of the USS Greeneville.
Immunity requests may alter inquiry
Cmdr. Scott Waddle, former captain of the USS Greeneville, has requested "testimonial immunity," a legal move that would prevent his testimony from being used against him later.
Navy told of chances to raise Ehime Maru from ocean floor
A civilian salvage company briefed the Navy yesterday on the feasibility of raising the Ehime Maru, but the options will not be made public until Monday, when the Navy plans to release a "technical recommendation."
Investigator urges improvements in subs' ability to rescue
The search-and-rescue efforts of the USS Greeneville following its fatal collision with a Japanese fishing ship showed both the professional response of the crew and the limitations of U.S. submarines, the chief investigator testified yesterday.
Posted on March 8, 2001
Sub probe may have mistakes, investigator says
The Navy's chief investigator examining the USS Greeneville accident acknowledged yesterday there could be flaws in some of the information that led him to conclude there were problems inside the sub's control room before the collision with a Japanese fishing vessel.
Submarine's crew may have revered skipper too much
Early testimony on the USS Greeneville accident has portrayed Cmdr. Scott Waddle as the kind of charismatic leader whose repeated successes, dedication and nurturing personality inspire complete confidence in his crew.
Factors causing accident listed
Rear Adm. Charles H. Griffiths Jr., who completed the initial investigation into the USS Greeneville accident, identified five factors he believes caused the accident.
Posted on March 7, 2001
Doubts aboard sub recalled
Two senior officers aboard the USS Greeneville felt the submarine's captain was preparing a complex surfacing procedure too quickly but raised no objections before the submarine collided with a Japanese fishing vessel.
Families tearfully accept donations
Relatives of the victims of the Japanese high school fishery training vessel Ehime Maru cried yesterday as they accepted sympathy cards and money donated by hundreds of Americans.
Admiral articulates procedural mistakes
In the past two days, Rear Adm. Charles Griffiths, who investigated the USS Greeneville accident for the Navy, has laid out some of the procedural mistakes and problems that were made before the submarine collided with the Ehime Maru.
Posted on March 6, 2001
Admiral lists troubles aboard sub
Before it collided with a Japanese fishing ship, the USS Greeneville was behind schedule, suffering from a crowded control room, a poorly supervised sonar trainee, bad decisions and a malfunctioning sonar video monitor.
Families' emotions seesaw with new data
Parents of the four students lost when a U.S. submarine accidentally sank the Ehime Maru said yesterday they feel relieved to know how it happened, encouraged by the support of people in Hawai'i and angry beyond words.
Skipper faces cameras, families of victims
Cmdr. Scott Waddle walked with authority, eyes forward as a dozen cameras pointed in his direction. As he strode, he held his wife's hand. His father walked beside him to his right. His attorney led the way.
Media swarm to cover inquiry
International news media descended in a frenzy yesterday on Pearl Harbor, where a forest of satellite trucks, vans and trailers crowded into a parking lot near the court of inquiry into the USS Greeneville accident.
• Inquiry president announces agenda
• Key figures at today's court of inquiry
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See KHON-TV report of the opening day of the USS Greeneville proceedings, available in low and high bandwidth format. RealPlayer is required.
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Posted on March 5, 2001
Inquiry to unravel tragic sinking
For the next three weeks or more, starting this morning, the world will enter the control room of the USS Greeneville as it broke the ocean’s surface off Diamond Head on Feb. 9 and rammed a Japanese fisheries training ship.
Posted on March 4, 2001
Ehime Maru ceremony aimed to help heal
Hawaiian chanters stood on the bow of the Polynesian Voyaging Society canoe Hokule'a late this afternoon, to toss leis and traditional offerings into the seas above where the Ehime Maru sank three weeks ago after being rammed by the US Navy submarine Greeneville.
Attorney acknowledges responsibility lies with sub commander
The attorney representing the commander of the USS Greeneville today said a series of errors, including possibly those committed by his client, may have caused the accident that killed nine men and boys aboard the Ehime Maru.
Canceled training exercise allowed civilian tour of sub
The USS Greeneville might not have been off Diamond Head at all the day it collided with a Japanese fishing vessel had the Navy not scheduled a private tour for 16 civilians, officials said.
Posted on March 3, 2001
Pressure, politics play out in sub inquiry
The rare court of inquiry scheduled to begin tomorrow at Pearl Harbor, in which the captain of the USS Greeneville, the executive officer and the officer of the deck will face intense scrutiny of their actions in the Feb. 9 collision with the Ehime Maru, may make reputations and ruin careers.
Canceled training exercise allowed civilian tour of sub
The USS Greeneville might not have been off Diamond Head at all the day it collided with a Japanese fishing vessel had the Navy not scheduled a private tour for 16 civilians, officials said.
Posted on March 2, 2001
Sub, ship less than 3 miles apart during periscope check
New information released yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board shows that the USS Greeneville used its periscope to check for surface vessels just three minutes and 20 seconds before it slammed into a Japanese training vessel on the surface.
Survivor search halted
The search for survivors of the Ehime Maru ended last night, three weeks after a U.S. submarine accidentally sank the Japanese fishing vessel during a surfacing drill off O'ahu.
Posted on March 2, 2001
Bush envoy creates bond with families of missing Japanese
A U.S. Navy admiral held "heart-to-heart" talks Thursday with relatives of nine Japanese presumed dead after a submarine sank their ship, bringing a degree of closure to the saga of recrimination between the two nations and turning attention to raising the wreckage.
Greeneville incident brings rare session to Pearl Harbor
A select audience will bear witness to one of the rarest of military investigations when the Navy opens its court of inquiry Monday, examining the events that put a nuclear submarine on a deadly collision course with a Japanese fishing vessel.
Rumsfeld won't comment about civilians on subs
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld refused to comment yesterday about whether civilians distract armed forces personnel during military exercises, deferring to the court of inquiry on the USS Greeneville accident.
Kailua High students to honor Ehime Maru victims
Students from the Kailua High School science and boating program will pay tribute Sunday to the lost crew members and students of the Ehime Maru.
Posted on March 1, 2001
Ehime Maru search Day 21: 'A political task'
As the Coast Guard crew looks for victims and debris of the Ehime Maru, hope fades each day that they will find anyone alive or dead. Today is Day 21 of a search-and-rescue effort for nine people lost at sea.
Skipper tells father he went by the book
The commander of the USS Greeneville says his vessel's collision with the Japanese ship Ehime Maru is "a burden I will carry with me for the rest of my life."
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