US sub,Japan tanker collide, no injuries, oil leak

TOKYO, Jan 9 (Reuters) A US nuclear submarine and a Japanese tanker collided in the Gulf, but there were no injuries or oil leaks, officials of the tanker's owner and the US military said today.

The USS Newport News submarine and the Mogamigawa Japanese cargo ship collided in the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway for oil transportation, at 10:15 pm local time 0045 IST today, the US. navy said.

The Mogamigawa had eight Japanese and 16 Philippine crew members.

''Thankfully no sailors or merchant crewmen were injured,'' said Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the US Fifth Fleet which is based in the Gulf state of Bahrain.

''The damage is still being evaluated but both vessels are seaworthy,'' he told Reuters, adding that the cause of the accident was under investigation.

The propulsion plant of the nuclear powered sub was unaffected, the navy said in a statement.

A Japanese Defence Ministry spokesman said it was investigating the incident, which involved a ship belonging to Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. carrying oil for Showa Shell Sekiyu KK.

A Kawasaki Kisen spokesman said there had been no injuries and no oil leaked from the vessel, and a Japanese Transport Ministry spokesman said the ship was still able to move.

''I am very relieved'' there were no injuries or oil leak, Japanese Transport Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba told reporters.

A spokeswoman for the shipping firm said the very large crude carrier Mogamigawa had been headed for Singapore from the Gulf and would stop at the United Arab Emirates to check the extent of any damage.

REUTERS LL VC1250