The damaged US nuclear submarine ‘Newport News’ which polluted the Persian Gulf waters with radioactive and chemical materials after it collided with a Japanese super tanker in the Straits of Hormuz was forced to leave the Persian Gulf following strong protests by Iranian officials.

Newport News, which accompanied USS Eisenhower, sustained heavy damages after it collided with the Japanese super tanker Mogamigava east of the Hormuz Straits at 22:15 hours local time (18:45 GMT) on January 8, 2007, as a result of which its captain Mathew Vinegar was dismissed.

Following the collision and when the submarine was transferred to a port in Bahrain to undergo repair works, chemical and radioactive materials started leaking into the Persian Gulf waters.

Subsequently, the commander of Iran’s naval force voiced his deep concern over the pollution of the Persian Gulf region and its negative impacts on the environment, following which the Iranian parliament’s Environment Commission pursued the case through correspondence and exchange of views with different world authorities and bodies.

As per the objections made in this regard coupled with the United States’ fear from the consequences and aftermaths of the case, the nuclear submarine was transferred from the Persian Gulf for overhaul.