page_title: USS Hartford grounding
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: USS Hartford grounding / Aftermath
context_page_description: On 25 October 2003, USS Hartford, a United States Navy nuclear-powered Los Angeles-class submarine ran aground while leaving the harbor of the NATO Naval Base at the Santo Stefano island in La Maddalena archipelago, Sardinia. Approximately nine million dollars' worth of damage was done to the submarine, and it was out of service for seven months. An investigation into the accident revealed that basic navigational errors combined with equipment failures were to blame for the submarine running into the rocky shallows.
context_section_description: Navy divers from USS Emory S. Land 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 seven months. It finally returned to Groton.
  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 U.S. 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 had reported aboard only weeks before the boat left for the Mediterranean and his 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.
caption: Damage to USS Hartford's rudder.
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