Nuclear Navy Sub Collides With Ship

A nuclear-powered Navy submarine collided with a merchant ship in dense fog off the Virginia coast Friday. Both vessels were damaged, but there were no reports of injuries or water pollution.

The Saudi Arabian-flagged container ship was headed from Baltimore to New York and the USS Jacksonsville was returning on the surface to Norfolk Naval Base when they collided about 17 miles southeast of Cape Henry, the Navy and Coast Guard said.

The 657-foot Saudi Makkah reported a 21-foot gash above the waterline.

The 362-foot Jacksonville was damaged on its rudder and its starboard fair water plane, a large winglike structure that assists the vessel in diving.