USS HARTFORD (SSN 768), Grounding, 25 October 2003   

U.S. Nuclear Submarine Grounds Off Italy

ROME - A nuclear-powered submarine went aground near the Italian island of Sardinia, the U.S. 6th Fleet said Wednesday. The USS Hartford (SSN 768), a fast attack submarine, went aground on Oct. 25 2003 off La Maddalena, a tiny island off Sardinia's north coast that hosts a Naval support facility. The grounding caused limited rudder damage and scraped the bottom of the sub, but no one was injured and there was no environmental damage. Still, the grounding of the nuclear-powered vessel raised concern in Italy, where citizens voted against nuclear power plants in a 1987 referendum. After an investigation of the grounding, two U.S. Navy officers have been relieved of their commands, Commanding officer of the submarine and the Commander submarine squadron 22. Another officer and one enlisted crew member were also relieved of their duties and ordered to return to their parent squadron in New London, Conn. The sub, which has been temporarily repaired, will go to the Naval Shipyard in Norfolk, Va., for more work. The six-month deployment of the Hartford, which is based in Groton, Conn., had just begun last month.