WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The commander of a U.S. Navy submarine has been relieved of command for an accident that killed two in England on Dec. 29, the Navy announced Friday.
Submarine Force Commander Vice Adm. Chuck Munns "lost confidence" in Cmdr. Edwin Ruff of the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul attack submarine and reassigned him to a staff job in Norfolk, Va.
The accident occurred when the submarine was leaving the port of Plymouth, England. A port pilot was on the ship to navigate it out of the channel. When the vessel cleared the port, the pilot went topside to get into a small boat to take him back to port. Four sailors were sent up with him to help him leave the submarine safely.
At the time, however, the seas were rough. All four sailors were swept overboard. All had safety harnesses on that allowed them to be pulled back on the ship but two were drowned in the accident.
Ruff, his former executive officer and three other sailors faced non-judicial punishment -- a military procedure short of a court martial. The three sailors were cleared of responsibility. Ruff and the submarine's Executive Officer received punitive letters of reprimand.
The U.S. Navy has a strong tradition of holding commanders personally responsible for any accidents on board their ship.
A Navy official said the commander likely had several options other than putting sailors topside in dangerous conditions, including waiting for the seas to calm down, turning the vessel around and going back to port, or moving farther out to sea with the pilot on board until the waves slowed down.
