Nuclear Sub Shoves Off Despite Dispute Over Safety : Navy: The aging Guardfish ships out after several in the crew claim that it has a leaky reactor.

The Navy’s nuclear submarine Guardfish shipped out Tuesday--a day behind schedule--under a cloud of controversy after several sailors alleged that the vessel is unsafe and has a leaky reactor.

Navy officials said submarines frequently do not leave on time, and the departure was delayed because of a broken pump detected during its last stint at sea.

“It’s not unusual for schedules to slide,” said Lt. Susan Haeg, a spokeswoman for the submarine base at Point Loma. “They are not going to leave until they are ready. . . . The mission is not urgent. The Navy simply doesn’t tell anyone to sail until they are ready.”

The drain pump, which is used for depth control and has a back-up system, malfunctioned during the vessel’s last deployment, said Lt. Cmdr. Doug Hocking, spokesman for the Pacific Fleet’s submarine force.

When the ship pulled into San Diego a week ago, workers began repairing the pump, Hocking said. During testing, they found “some additional minor problems, which were also corrected,” Hocking said.

“However, at no time was the ship in any danger,” Hocking said.

More than eight sailors, who requested anonymity, told the San Diego Union that the captain of the attack-sub Guardfish violated numerous Navy regulations by taking the 127-member crew to sea in an unsafe vessel.

Rear Adm. Karl L. Kaup, commander of Submarine Group 5, shipped out aboard the Guardfish on Tuesday. Kaup usually ships out twice a month with the submarines in his command, Haeg said, because he views it as “an effective way of keeping in touch with submarine operations.”

The Guardfish was to conduct local operations. Though originally scheduled to leave Monday, the Guardfish was delayed a day as workers fixed the pump.

The Guardfish left at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, about 15 minutes behind schedule, officials said.

Several sailors told the newspaper that the 26-year-old Guardfish nearly sank during a training mission off the California coast last month because of a malfunctioning valve that allowed thousands of gallons of water to pour into the vessel.

Cmdr. Paul M. Higgins, commanding officer of the Guardfish, which is scheduled to be retired this summer, was unavailble for comment. Higgins has held his post several months.

Navy officials say the recent flap over the Guardfish has more to do with disgruntled crew members than safety violations. Despite the apparent malaise plaguing the vessel, Haeg said all crew members showed up for duty.

“Sounds like there’s an unhappy crew, but that’s about it,” Haeg said. “Yes, the sub is safe. Absolutely. They would not go out to sea if it wasn’t.”

To the chagrin of Navy officials, this incident marks the second time in less than a year that disgruntled sailors have come forward to air their complaints to the media. Last August, four sailors aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier Nimitz told a Seattle television station that crew members aboard the Bremerton-based vessel had flouted safety regulations. The four sailors also threatened to sabotage the vessel’s reactors to draw attention to their complaints.

After an investigation, Navy officials said several sailors aboard the Nimitz cheated on exams covering their technical knowledge, an act that neither endangered the ship nor was widespread. The four sailors turned whistle-blowers were reassigned.

But, in that incident--as well as the recent one involving the Guardfish--the normally reticent Navy nuclear-powered ship community gained unwanted notoriety.

“It’s a secretive, cloistered community,” said one official, who requested anonymity, “and this is a bit of an embarrassment.”