A Navy vessel sank under unclear circumstances, at an undisclosed location, while testing out some secretive technology last December — and that’s about all the sea service will say on the subject.
The vessel’s name and the nature of the technology tests were not disclosed, though officials did say it took on water and sank while moored.
That’s the extent of information made public by the Navy regarding the Dec. 7 Class A mishap, the highest mishap category, denoting damages of at least $2.5 million.
While the incident was made public by Naval Safety Command, officials there declined late last week to provide details on the secret boat, its secret work, its secret location at the time of its secret sinking or to which unit the secret craft belonged.
“Due to the experimental nature of the technology coupled with OSPEC concerns, we are unable to provide any further details nor specifics of the incident,” Naval Safety Command spokeswoman Priscilla Kirsch said in an email to Navy Times.
The craft was “immediately recovered and restored,” and is awaiting further evaluation, Kirsch added.
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.
