Aden bomb: Captain escapes charges

The blast nearly sank the ship

The US Navy's highest ranking officer has decided not to punish the captain or crew of the USS Cole for failing to follow all prescribed security precautions, a senior defence official said Monday.

Speaking anonymously to the Associated Press, the defence official said that Admiral Vern Clark, chief of naval operations and final arbiter in the matter, will endorse Admiral Robert Natter's decision last week that no action be taken.

Seventeen sailors were killed in the suicide bomb attack on 12 October 2000, which occurred as the Cole was in Yemen's Aden harbour for refuelling.

A naval probe into the incident found that the Cole's captain, Commander Kirk Lippold, had failed to carry out approximately 60 planned actions to ensure the ship's protection as it lay in harbour.

Devastating blast

Admiral Clark has not yet submitted his written endorsement but is expected to do it soon, the official said.

36 sailors were injured in the attack

As the Cole was taking on fuel, a small boat sidled up to the 151 metre (505 foot) destroyer, packed with explosives.

When it detonated it ripped a hole 12 metres (40 feet) high by 12 metres wide in the Cole, damaging it so severely it almost sank

Following the incident some believed that Commander Lippold would be punished and his career ruined.

Insufficient information

Instead, it has been deemed that Commander Lippold did what could have been reasonably expected under the circumstances and that he was not given necessary information about the terrorist threat in Aden.

Both admirals also believe that even with security measures in place as prescribed, the attack would not have been prevented, officials have said.

Heroic actions

Navy officials, including Admiral Natter, have praised Commander Lippold and the crew for having acted heroically to save the ship.

The Cole was carried back to the United States aboard a heavy-lift ship and is to undergo repairs at a shipyard in Mississippi.