HONOLULU -- The presence of civilian guests and deficiencies in the personnel and equipment aboard the USS Greeneville before it collided with the Ehime Maru were highlighted Monday in the U.S. Navy's formal inquiry in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Rear. Adm. Charles Griffiths, the submarine group commander who conducted a preliminary investigation into the Feb. 9 accident, testified on the opening day of the inquiry that one of the sub's sonar units was operated by an unsupervised trainee because the supervisor had been ordered to act as a tour guide for 16 civilian visitors aboard the vessel.
Griffiths also said the Greeneville was rushing through an emergency surfacing maneuver when it struck the Ehime Maru because the submarine was 45 minutes behind schedule after lunch for the civilian visitors had taken too long.