Commander of nuclear sub is relieved of duty after lapses

The commanding officer of the nuclear-powered submarine the Hampton was relieved of duty Thursday because of a loss of confidence in his leadership, the Navy said.

A Navy investigation found that Cmdr. Michael B. Portland’s sub crew failed to conduct daily safety checks on its nuclear reactor for a month and that it falsified records to cover up the omission.

“His oversight of the crew’s performance did not identify these issues,” said Navy Lt. Alli Myrick, a public affairs officer. Portland’s commanders identified the problems during a routine review, she said.

The sub was never conducting unsafe operations, she said.

Sailors in Submarine Squadron 11 skipped the required analysis of the chemical and radiological properties of the submarine’s reactor for more than a month, a preliminary investigation indicates.

A daily check is required.

The Hampton is the most advanced nuclear attack submarine in the world, carrying a torpedo, cruise missile and mine-laying arsenal, according to the Navy’s website.

The Los Angeles Class submarine is docked in San Diego.

Portland’s dismissal as commander is effective immediately. Portland will be temporarily reassigned to squadron duty, Myrick said.

“He has not been charged with any offense, nor has he received nonjudicial punishment,” Myrick said.

There was no phone listing for Portland in San Diego, and the Navy did not immediately respond to a reporter’s request to interview him.

Portland’s removal comes after officials also discovered that logs on the Hampton had been filled out to make it appear the daily checks of the reactor water had actually been done.

Other members of the squadron discovered the lapse during a routine examination conducted as the submarine was nearing the Sept. 17 end of a West Pacific deployment.

The investigation was first reported in Monday’s edition of Navy Times newspaper, a subsidiary of Gannett Co.

It quoted an unidentified source as saying that a long- term failure to measure and maintain the correct water chemistry in the reactor could cause corrosion in the propulsion system.

The reported problems with procedures and record-keeping in the Navy squadron follow an incident in August when a B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown to a Louisiana base.

The mission from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota was to ferry cruise missiles that had been slated for decommissioning, but the warheads were supposed to have been removed beforehand.

The Air Force disciplined some 70 airmen.