USS Hartford Grounding - Aftermath

Aftermath

Navy divers from the USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) inspected Hartford the next day and found large areas of the hull scraped down to bare metal. Sound damping anechoic tiles had been ripped away, metal grates over the ballast tanks had been badly distorted and the passive sonar hydrophone system damaged in three separate locations. The worst damage was at the aft end of the boat, where the rocks had torn off the bottom part of the rudder. So severe was the damage, that there was some question as to the structural integrity of the hull, however, temporary repairs were conducted at La Maddalena. And on 19 November 2003 Hartford proceeded back to Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia under her own power, but at half speed — arriving on 17 December 2003. Hartford then underwent repairs for two months. It finally returned to Groton in March.

After the accident Commander Christopher R. Van Metre, captain of Hartford, and Captain Greg Parker, Commodore of Submarine Squadron 22, were relieved of command and sent back to the United States. Six other crewmen were also charged with dereliction of duty.

The US Navy report into the incident made several recommendations, one of which is to ensure that no transfers of key personnel occur prior to, or during a deployment. Hartford’s captain and navigator had both reported aboard only weeks before the boat left for the Mediterranean and their unfamiliarity with the crew and the boat were contributing factors. The lessons learned about the failures in navigation have been incorporated into the "submarine on-board training syllabus". The Navy has also asked the government of Italy to place more navigational buoys warning of shallow water near Sardinia.