Officers aboard the submarine USS Greeneville suggested measures to deal with the press following the sub's collision with a Japanese fisheries training ship in February, CBS television reported Monday.
CBS said it has obtained a navy transcript of communications between the Greeneville and its base in Pearl Harbor on the day of the collision in which the Greeneville's officers suggested separately offering explanations on the accident to its crew and 16 civilian guests as a measure to deal with the press.
The 6,080-ton nuclear attack sub hit the 499-ton Ehime Maru at 1:43 p.m. on Feb. 9 off Hawaii during a rapid surfacing demonstration conducted for the civilian guests.
The Ehime Maru sank and nine Japanese, including four teenage students from Uwajima Fisheries High School in Ehime Prefecture, were lost at sea in the accident.