Japanese
training vessel attached to
Uwajima Fisheries
Senior High School in Uwajima,
Ehime Prefecture (hence the name),
Shikoku. It was struck by an American
submarine, the
USS Greeneville (
CO, Cmdr.
Scott Waddle), in an
emergency surfacing drill near
Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, February 9, 2001. Nine people were killed in the incident, five students and four faculty.
The Greeneville was entertaining 16 civilians on board at the time of the collision, and it was later discovered that three of them were allowed to take the controls during the surfacing drill. In addition, a third of the crew, including the sonar operator, had been taken off the sub to make way for the VIPs. Cmdr. Waddle was court martialed, found guilty, and forced to retire.
The Navy spent nearly $90 million to recover the wreckage of the Ehime Maru, and the state of Hawaii donated land for a $65,000 memorial donated by Japan. This quick response from the U.S. government helped to quell a brief period of Japanese outrage over the accident.
The Greeneville, which survived the collision, is currently on anti-terrorism duty in the Middle East.
UPDATE: Commander Waddle finally received clearance from his lawyer to visit Uwajima to express his condolences, and flew into Matsuyama on December 15, 2002.