The US Navy announcement was curt and vague. They can operate in shallow water and may carry nuclear weapons. The USS Connecticut is one of only three Seawolf-class submarines designed to hunt the best Soviet submarines near the end of the Cold War. According to the announcement, the submarine “remained in a safe and stable condition” and its “nuclear propulsion plant and spaces were not affected and remain fully operational.” The vessel eventually limped on the surface under its own power into Guam, where the damage is being assessed. On October 7, the US Navy announced that five days earlier, its fast-attack nuclear submarine USS Connecticut hit an unidentified object in the South China Sea. It and the public would immediately want to know: was there any radiation leakage from the reactor or its nuclear weapons - if it was carrying them? What caused the accident? Where exactly did it happen? What was it doing there in the first place? And more. But just imagine if it did, and the US reaction. “US demands details of Chinese nuclear sub accident off California,” screamed the headlines. The release of nuclear radiation could damage the food supply of many nations. The accident involving a US nuclear-powered submarine in the South China Sea brings into scrutiny the ramifications of such an accident.
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