Sub Bump II - The Sequel

The AP reports that the U.S. nuclear submarine, USS Hartford, and the amphibious ship, USS New Orleans, collided with each other before dawn Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest oil shipping lanes. (h/t Subvet at Blowing San #1 for this one)

The New Orleans suffered a ruptured fuel tank, resulting in an oil spill of approximately 25,000 gallons (95,000 liters) of diesel fuel, Christensen said. There was no damage to the sub's nuclear propulsion system.

Still, the unusual collision between members of the same navy sparked a sudden rise in oil prices -- which had been declining on the day -- even though the strait remained open.

Wow. This is totally embarassing for the world's most powerful nation to be involved in a traffic accident of its own making. Also unhelpful is that these actions directly contributed to jacking up oil prices unnecessarily -- with us in a recession and all.

This incident is just one of the latest in a series of high-powered accidents in the world least hospitable places: Russian satellites, French and English nuclear submarines, green asteroids.
It seems the world's least hospitable places are getting increasingly crowded. Come on, guys -- two hands on the wheel.