The fast-attack submarine Connecticut returned to its Washington state home port Tuesday, nearly three months after it collided with an undersea mountain in the South China Sea.
The secretive and pricey sub will commence repairs at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for damages from the collision that the Navy has yet to publicly disclose.
Connecticut made a pit stop in San Diego earlier this month after transiting to Guam.
Images released Tuesday by Submarine Force Pacific show the crew hugging loved ones after being away for roughly six months and enduring the harrowing mishap.
One of just three Seawolf-class subs, Connecticut collided with an undersea mountain in the South China Sea Oct. 2, and 11 sailors sustained minor injuries in the mishap.
It made its way to Guam for damage assessment, and the command triad was relieved in November.
Later that month, the head of U.S. Submarine Forces ordered a communitywide navigation stand-down.
While officials declined to provide details on the precise nature of the stand-down, they said it would serve as a refresher course on navigation and other best practices in the submarine community.
While the community appears to be spreading lessons learned from the mishap, officials have not indicated when the Navy’s investigations into the mishap will be made public, although Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday has said they will be in the future.
“We’ll get to the point where we can release those investigations, absolutely,” Gilday told reporters last month.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
