Commandante Thompson (C.N.S.)

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada states that "The "Moonglow", on passage from Tofino, B.C. to Victoria, B.C., departed the anchorage at Port San Juan, B.C. at 1500, 11 September 1994. The "Thomson" departed Nanoose, B.C. on the morning of 11 September and disembarked her Canadian Navy Coastal Pilot off Victoria at 1805. The vessel was steaming on the surface in the Juan de Fuca Strait outbound for San Diego, California, U.S.A. At 2119, in Canadian waters off Sheringham Point, the "Thomson" and the "Moonglow" collided in dense fog. The "Moonglow", holed on the starboard side aft, sank quickly. The operator was rescued from the water by the crew of the submarine and treated for mild hypothermia. The submarine sustained some light damage to the starboard bow. " "The submarine "Thomson", built for the Chilean Navy, was launched in August 1983, commissioned in September 1984, and refitted in 1990. This vessel has a single-skinned hull of steel construction" "The collision occurred because the operator of the "Moonglow" did not plot his vessel's position frequently to monitor the vessel's progress along her intended track. As a result, the ketch inadvertently strayed into the outward bound traffic lane in dense fog. The fact that the ketch did not participate in the Seattle Traffic Reporting System, that the "Moonglow" was not detected by radar either by the "Thomson" or VTS, and that, because her operator was engaged in other tasks, he did not observe the approaching submarine by radar, contributed to this occurrence. "