Greeneville's First Report

CBS News has obtained a Navy transcript of communications between the USS Greeneville and its base in Pearl Harbor on the day the submarine collided with a Japanese trawler.

Nine people, four of them high school students, died when the attack submarine struck the trawler while demonstrating an emergency surfacing maneuver for 16 civilian guests on Feb. 9.

A Navy court of inquiry has taken evidence in the case and is mulling a decision on whether to reprimand, dismiss or court-martial the Greeneville's captain, executive officer and deck officer.

Some of the testimony heard by the court suggested the captain rushed through the surfacing drill and that key sonar information was not given too him for a variety of reasons, including perhaps the presence of the guests.

The record of communications is one piece of evidence the court is weighing.

The transcript begins just three minutes after the Greeneville hit the Japanese ship, called the Ehime Maru.

"Oprep-3 Navy blue," the Greeneville radioed to the command center in Pearl Harbor, using a signal reserved for serious incidents.

"Have experienced collision with surface vessel … vessel appears to be taking on water and sinking at this time … have Coast Guard contacted immediately … to render assistance."

The communications reveal that at first, the Greeneville crew thought the ship had hit a whale watching boat, and there was confusion about how many people were in life rafts and how many were still missing.

Then the command center asked how the accident happened.

"Was it a normal surfacing or emergency surfacing for visitors?" command asked.

"It was an emergency surfacing for visitors," the Greeneville replied.

Once Coast Guard cutters arrived on the scene, the Greeneville assured the command center it was seaworthy and able to return to Pearl Harbor.

Asked if it would return under cover of darkness or in daylight, which is safer but would allow cameras to see the extent of the damage to her rudder, the Greeneville replied, "We prefer to see daylight."

But the Greeneville acknowledged that a daylight return would involve "running the risk of a little bit of press."

The court of inquiry, which ended its hearings last week, is expected to take three weeks to make its recommendations.

Once the inquiry makes its recommendations, the head of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. Thomas Fargo, will have 30 days to decide what punishment, if any, the officers should face.

Amng the last witnesses to testify was the sub's captain Cmdr. Scott Waddle, who is under scrutiny along with his executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer; and the officer of the deck, Lt. j.g. Michael Coen.

Waddle last week told the three-admiral panel, "These mistakes were honest and well-intentioned." He also apologized for the accident.

AP Commander Scott Waddle

But he also told the court of inquiry, "I was trying my best to do the job that I was assigned" and appeared to shift some of the blame to his crew for failing to provide sufficient backup.

The admirals reviewed in detail the 80-second periscope search — a standard search is three minutes — that took place shortly before the collision.

Waddle raised his arms and clenched his fists in the air to simulate turning the periscope as he described the search, saying he looked in the area of reported contacts and believed he knew what was going on at the surface.

Waddle also disputed earlier testimony that he ran an informal — if not lax — ship.

©MMI Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report