US nuclear submarine collides with cruiser

Washington: A US Navy nuclear submarine today collided with a cruiser off the coast of northeastern Florida, but there were no injuries aboard the two vessels involved in the accident during an exercise.

The submarine USS Montpelier (SSN 765) and the Aegis cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56) collided while participating in a “group sail” along with another vessel, ABC news reported quoting a Navy statement. The statement adds that there were no injuries aboard either ship and that the submarine’s nuclear powered reactor “was unaffected by this collision.”

The incident is under investigation. A Navy official says three ships were participating in an anti-submarine exercise in preparation for an upcoming deployment as part of the strike group for the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman.

According to the official, the initial assessment of damage is that there was a complete depressurisation of the sonar dome aboard the San Jacinto. Located below the water line of surface warships, sonar domes provide the bulbous shape to the bows of warships.

After the collision, the official said, the submarine surfaced and communications were established between all the ships on the scene. The carrier USS Harry S Truman is also there, available

to provide assistance. The two ships involved in the collision are both operating under their own power.

Collisions between Navy submarines and surface warships are rare.

In March, 2009 the submarine USS Hartford suffered severe damage to its Con tower after colliding with the amphibious transport ship USS New Orleans in the Strait of Hormuz. The subsequent investigation found fault for the collision lay with the commanders aboard the submarine.

Several officers and crew aboard the submarine were later disciplined for their roles. Sukhtankar, however, said HDFC Bank was among the earliest in passing on the benefits of the twin rounds of cash reserve ratio cut by the RBI and cut its base rate in the first quarter.

At 9.8 percent, he said the bank’s base rate is one of the most competitive in the system. He said the bank’s credit growth, which came in at almost 23 per cent for the September quarter versus the overall banking system’s 16.6 per cent, will continue to outpace the systemic average by a few percentage points.

Demand from the retail segment is very good but the wholesale segment, which recorded a growth of under 15 per cent during the September quarter for the bank, is a laggard possibly due to gloomy economic conditions, he said.

Greenfield project loans demand is not coming and the corporate loan demand is driven more by the short-term working capital loan, he said.

For the 34th consecutive quarter, HDFC Bank had last week declared over 30 per cent spike in net profit at Rs 1,560 crore driven by health rise in retail advances and the resultant spike in interest come, even as its fee income remained almost flat during the second quarter.

Tags: collision, cruiser, submarine, US Navy

Category: World, World News