A US Navy nuclear submarine “slammed” into an oil tanker

What you need to know: In the early 2000s, the USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), a US Navy Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, collided with the Norwegian tanker Norman Lady near Gibraltar. The submarine had risen to periscope depth when it collided with the liquid gas tanker.

– Communication could not initially be established, but the shipping company later confirmed the collision. Fortunately, there were no injuries or oil leaks.

-The USS Oklahoma City suffered damage to its radar mast and periscope and was repaired in Sardinia. The submarine’s commander was relieved of his duties following the incident. The USS Oklahoma continued to serve until its decommissioning in 2022.

The US Navy attack submarine USS Oklahoma City collides with an oil tanker

When the Norwegian tanker Norman Lady collided with an unknown object in the early 2000s, it was certainly not suspected that the perpetrator was a US Navy nuclear-powered fast attack submarine. However, that is exactly what happened. The USS Oklahoma City was climbing to periscope depth near Gibraltar when it struck the liquefied natural gas tanker.

Crew members were initially unable to establish radio contact with the ship, but shipping company Leif Hoegh & Co. of Oslo, Norway, soon confirmed that the Norman Lady was indeed the submerged object. The company’s president, Thor Joergen Guttormsen, told Reuters at the time that he believed there was a “high probability” that the tanker would collide with the submarine.

“We can’t be sure; We are waiting for a report from the US authorities,” said Guttormsen. The President was indeed right and fortunately there were no oil leaks or injuries in the incident.

An overview of the USS Oklahoma City

The USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723) was the second U.S. Navy ship named after Oklahoma City when it was launched in the mid-1980s. The manufacturer, Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, was commissioned by the service to develop the Los Angeles-class submarine. Like her sister ships, the Oklahoma City was designed as a successor to the Sturgeon class. These larger ships were equipped with increased speed and stealth, allowing the class to better conduct surface warfare, undersea warfare, mining operations, reconnaissance, and carrier battle group support.

In the mid-1970s, the lead ship of the class USS Los Angeles was built, followed by Baton Rouge, Philadelphia, Memphis, Omaha, Cincinnati, Groton, Birmingham, New York City, Indianapolis, Bremerton, Jacksonville, Dallas, La Jolla, Phoenix, Boston, Baltimore, Corpus Christi, Albuquerque, Portsmouth, Minneapolis, Hyman G. Rickover, Augusta, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Norfolk, Buffalo, Salt Lake City, Olympia and Honolulu.

Each Los Angeles-class ship was 362 feet long and displaced about 7,000 pounds when submerged. Thanks to the nuclear energy source, each ship could operate at extremely shallow depths and only needed to be refueled every three decades.

In terms of armament, the Oklahoma City and the other ships of the Los Angeles class have a lot to offer. Each of these submarines is equipped with a twelve-tube vertical missile system. The first submarines were built with the Raytheon AN/BYG-1 combat control systems and were later replaced by the Raytheon CCS Mark 2 combat data system.

The consequences of the collision

While the oil tanker Lady Norman suffered no damage in the Gibraltar collision, the USS Oklahoma City was not so lucky. The Los Angeles-class submarine suffered damage to its radar mast in the sailing area and to one of its periscopes. After the collision, Oklahoma sailed to Sardinia to make minor repairs. Ultimately, the submarine’s commander and three other crew members on the coast were relieved of their duties.

The USS Oklahoma City would continue to honorably serve the Navy following the collision with the Norman Lady until its decommissioning in 2022.

About the author: Maya Carlin, defense expert

Maya Carlin, national security writer at The National Interest, is an analyst at the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She is featured in many publications including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.

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