Tokyo, February 8 A submarine of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces collided with a Hong Kong-Chinese merchant ship in the waters near Ashikayu, Kochi Prefecture on the 8th.
Three self-defensemen on the submarine were slightly injured, while the merchant ship personnel said they did not feel the vibration caused by the collision.
At a press conference held in Tokyo, Kato Katsunobu Kato, the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, said at a subsequent press conference that at 10:58 a.m. local time (9:58 a.m. Beijing time), a “Canglong”-class submarine of the Maritime Self-Defense Force collided with a merchant ship in the waters near Ashikatsuki, Kochi Prefecture.
The Japan Maritime Security Agency immediately contacted the merchant ship, and the other party replied that it did not feel the vibration caused by the collision and believed that the hull was not damaged at present.
Relevant people from the Coast Guard Department revealed that the hit merchant ship was registered in Hong Kong, China.
According to Japanese media reports, the submarine has just finished regular maintenance.
It rubbed with the bottom of the merchant ship while floating on the sea during training.
The top of the submarine was partially damaged but did not affect navigation.
The submarine is currently heading to a nearby port.
