Pacific

Damaged US nuclear submarine about to cross Pacific

09:00 am on 3 August 2005

Reports from the United States say a damaged nuclear-powered submarine that crashed in Micronesia earlier this year is about to travel across the Pacific.

The USS San Francisco smashed its bow into an underwater mountain in the Federated States of Micronesia in January, killing one crew member and injuring nearly a hundred others.

The Bremerton Sun newspaper in Washington state reports navy officials as confirming the submarine is heading there for permanent repairs, and it should arrive later in the northern summer.

A Navy investigation into the accident found the navigation crew had been using the wrong chart.

The commanding officer was relieved of duty and six other crew members punished.