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Tokyo (CNN) -
A Japanese submarine collided with a commercial ship on Monday while trying to surface off the country's Pacific coast, government officials said.
Three members of the crew of the Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine Soryu sustained minor injuries.
Images from the Japanese Coast Guard showed that the submarine suffered damage to its open water rudders, the wing-shaped structures in its command tower.
Satellite photos appear to show a Chinese submarine using an underground base
The accident occurred near the main island of Shikoku, in southern Japan.
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine Soryu is seen in the Pacific Ocean after colliding with a commercial ship on Monday.
Submarine first of its kind
The Soryu, commissioned in 2009, is the first of its kind among Japanese electric and diesel powered submarines.
It displaces around 3,000 tons and has a crew of around 65.
The Defense Ministry said communications equipment on the submarine was also damaged, although it was still in working order.
“Soryu scraped the ship's hull as it surfaced.
It is extremely regrettable that the MSDF submarine collided with a commercial ship, ”said Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.
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The commercial vessel, the Hong Kong-registered freighter Ocean Artemis, reported no damage, Coast Guard officials added.
Bradley Martin, an analyst at RAND Corp and a former US Navy captain, who analyzed images of the damage, said the impact would have restricted the submarine's capabilities.
“I would not call the damage 'minor'.
The submarine cannot submerge or communicate, ”Martin said in an email to CNN.
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Almost 20 years after another submarine incident
The incident comes nearly 20 years after a US nuclear-powered attack submarine accidentally struck and sank a Japanese fishing boat, killing nine people, including four high school students, near Honolulu.
On February 9, 2001, the USS Greeneville was conducting an emergency surface demonstration for civilian guests on board when it came under the Japanese ship Ehime Maru on February 9, 2001. The fishing training ship, which was carrying to students and teachers at a fishing school in Uwajima, Japan, it sank in minutes.
Rescuers saved 26 people.
The United States Navy paid a total of US $ 16.5 million in compensation to the victims and relatives of the dead.
The submarine's commander, Scott Waddle, was found guilty of breach of duty and negligent risk of a ship by a military court of inquiry and was forced to withdraw.
Submarine
