By Gina Tabonares
Variety News Staff

THE Dec. 1, 2006 USS Frank Cable accident that killed two sailors and injured six others has been traced to errors in judgment committed by its commanding officer and chief engineer.
This was among the findings reported by the Commander Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet after a five-month fact-finding investigation that involved the examination of at least 110 pieces of evidence.
A steam line ruptured during a safety valve check while the ship was docked at Guam’s Apra Harbor. The 29-year-old submarine tender had just returned hours before from a daylong “friends and family cruise.”
The Commander Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet investigation showed that the ship’s main propulsion assistant and engineering officer of the watch got permission from the chief engineer to conduct a safety valve test on Boiler No. 1 at around 7 p.m.
Gags were placed on two of the three safety valves and steam pressure was raised to test the third valve when a “hissing” was heard by some of the 14 sailors in the room who were watch standers, technicians and observers.
The catastrophic steam rupture occurred between 7:30 and 7:33 p.m., dumping boiler contents into the fire room. Watch standers attempted to secure the boiler and evacuate. Nine sailors went through the fire room’s escape truck, and five used the main entrance.
At about 8 to 8:30 p.m., ambulances from Naval Hospital Guam, the Guam Fire Department, the Commander Naval Forces Marianas and the Federal Fire Department arrived and all medical officers were recalled to the ship to attend to eight injured sailors.
Two were treated and released on Guam while six sailors — Seaman Jack Valentine, Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Bruce II, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Lammey, Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew Bove and Chief Petty Officer Delfin Dulay — were medevaced from Andersen Air Force Base to Tripler Medical Center in Hawaii for stabilization.
They were flown to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas where Valentine, 20, died a week after the tragedy.
While at the hospital, the injured sailors received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for heroic actions during the steam leak. Dulay’s ceremony was held bedside where he remained in critical condition. He died on April 30.
After the investigation, a recommendation endorsed by Rear Adm. Joseph Walsh, commander of the Submarine Force of U.S. Pacific Fleet, said USS Frank Cable Commander Captain Lee Goff and the chief engineer, whose name was not released, erred when they allowed the ship to steam No. 1 boiler in order to perform safety valve maintenance before determining the cause of chemistry concentration and abnormal feed water consumption of the number one boiler.
The report also stated that the ship leaders, including USS Frank Cable Executive Officer Commander Steve Cole, failed to conduct proper main space or fire room and evacuation training that could have led to more serious injuries.
Though not considered “malicious acts” or negligence, the decisions of the three officers will be reviewed for administrative or disciplinary action, the report said.
The Commander Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet also recommended that a board be convened to review personnel actions to determine if awards or recognition is warranted, saying that several sailors should be commended and recognized for their admirable efforts to secure the boiler to prevent further damage to the ship, and to assist other sailors with evacuation from the fire room and to provide first aid to wounded shipmates.
It also suggested that the Navy Bureau of Medicine evaluate the capability of medical facilities on Guam to respond to a mass casualty and that the USS Frank Cable’s engineering department be evaluated on training, watch standing, maintenance and risk management practices.