A Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine cruising just below the surface collided Tuesday morning with a chemical tanker 60 km off Toimisaki, Miyazaki Prefecture, but no one was injured and no spill was reported, MSDF officials said.
The 2,900-ton submarine Asashio apparently struck the Panamanian-registered 4,000-ton tanker Spring Auster while preparing to surface during training operations.
The accident damaged the 86-meter-long training sub's upper tail fin and rudder, MSDF officials said.
The Spring Auster was heading for China. None of its crew -- 16 Philippine nationals and a South Korean -- was hurt.
The Asashio was cruising submerged with its periscope up when the crew felt a shock. It made contact with the tanker at around 9:49 a.m. Because the sub crew did not immediately realize the cause of the impact, it maintained course, the MSDF officials said.
According to the Japan Coast Guard, the tanker also kept to its course, unaware that the impact it felt came from a submarine.
Later in the day, the tanker arrived at Shibushi port in Kagoshima Prefecture to undergo an inspection, and the Asashio arrived at Aburatsu port, as instructed by Japan Coast Guard, for questioning, the MSDF said.
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