Nuclear submarine dent stealth over safety
The senior officer responsible for the Royal Navy’s most demanding training course put a $3.8 million dent in the conning tower of a nuclear submarine when he took his eye off the periscope, a court martial was told yesterday (Thursday).
Commander Justin Codd was found guilty of putting stealth before safety while supervising a command course for submarine captains.
The court martial at Portsmouth naval base ruled that Commander Codd should have kept a closer eye on hazards while the $2 billion HMS Ambush was being manoeuvred by two candidates for senior command.
The Astute class boat was approaching Gibraltar harbour on the last day of the 23-week course when she hit a merchant ship. The prang, on July 20, 2016, put the Ambush out of action for three months while she underwent repairs.
The court was told that Commander Codd, 45, had had a distinguished 22-year career. Captain John Atwill, for the prosecution, said Commander Codd had not used the submarine’s second periscope to "reduce risk of detection". Instead, he relied on candidates using the main periscope, who failed to alert him to a danger.
Captain Atwill said that Commander Codd "wrongly assumed" that MVAndreas was not a threat because she was clearly visible. When the student submarine commanders steered sharply away from a yacht named Katharsis, Ambush was put on a collision course with the merchant ship. There would have been time to avoid a collision by diving but Commander Codd, unaware of the danger, failed to take action.
Captain Atwill said: "While it may be justifiable to take risks in war situations it is not justifiable in a training exercise. His decision to focus on teaching and not safety compounded the errors made by the students. He believed his understanding was enough to keep the submarine safe - the very fact of the collision disproves this."
Commander Codd is in charge of the navy’s Perisher programme. All officers have one chance to pass before they can assume command of a submarine. If they fail, they have to leave the submarine service.
Captain Sean Moore, for the defence, described the collision as the worst day of Commander Codd’s career. "Because of a few minutes of distraction, all he had worked so hard for over 20 years was put in jeopardy.’’
Commander Codd admitted one charge of hazarding a ship and was sentenced to the forfeiture of one year’s seniority.
Robert Hill, the assistant judge advocate general, said: "This was a momentary aberration rather than a cavalier act . . . it involved a very serious misjudgment which had the potential for grave errors."