(Persian Gulf) From Naval Today:
No one was hurt when the periscope on USS Jacksonville (SSN 699), a Los Angeles-class submarine, struck a vessel while operating in the Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf) Jan. 10 at approximately 5 a.m. local time.Another source specifies that one of the submarine periscopes was sheared clean off. Nevertheless, the vessel that was hit, believed to be a fishing trawler with country of origin unknown, reportedly did not suffer any distress.
Jacksonville surfaced from periscope depth to ascertain if there was any damage to the unidentified vessel. The vessel continued on a consistent course and speed offering no indication of distress or acknowledgement of a collision.
Damage appears to be limited to one of Jacksonville's two periscopes. The reactor remains in a safe condition, there was no damage to the propulsion plant systems and there is no concern regarding watertight integrity.
A U.S. P-3 Orion aircraft conducted a search of the area and saw no debris in the water or vessels in distress. The airborne search of the area is complete.
So, reporting on the incident indicates that a fishing trawler can effectively collide with and damage a 6,000+ ton Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine and then scoot off unimpeded. Frankly, that scenario seems unlikely.