The head of the Navy submarines in the Pacific reassigned the commanding officer of the USS Greeneville a day after the nuclear submarine collided with a Japanese fishing vessel.

Rear Adm. Al Komnetzni, Jr., Commander Submarine Forces Pacific reassigned Cmdr. Scott Waddle to the staff offices of the sub forces.

Capt. Tony Crtese was assigned interim commander of the Greeneville.

The slightly damaged USS Greeneville pulled into Pearl Harbor Saturday morning as rescue teams searched for nine missing crew members of the sunken Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru.

So far, Coast Guard and Navy rescue teams found no survivors as they searched overnight.

Officials said that the USS Greeneville suffered what they called minor damage to the port side of the vessel where it collided with the boat. They said that the damage would be repaired at Pearl Harbor.

Navy officials said that there were 16 guests onboard the Greeneville during the crash- 15 of them were civilians, one was a military official.

The Navy and Coast Guard on Saturday morning continued looking in choppy seas for people clinging to the wreckage.

"We found some debris earlier today, but no sign of survivors yet," said Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Greg Fondran.

The Ehime Maru left Japan with 20 crew members on Jan. 10 to hunt for tuna, swordfish and shark. The boat was also carrying two teachers and 13 students from the Uwajima Fisheries High School in the southwestern Japanese state of Ehime. The students were learning how to fish.

Still missing were four of the students, both teachers and three crew members.

So far search teams have scoured about 1,400 square miles, or roughly the size of Rhode Island. They said that there are 3-4 foot swells in the open ocean with passing rain cells. Officials said that they have located the Ehime Maru about 1,800 feet below sea level.

The Japanese fishing training tall ship, the Nippon Maru, was in nearby waters and has joined in the search for survivors.

Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke with Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono Saturday morning to convey his regrets and apologies and also the president's regrets and condolences, said David Denny, a State Department spokesman.

Also Saturday, the National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a five-member team to Hawaii to investigate the collision. The incident falls under the agency's jurisdiction because it occurred in U.S. waters and involved at least one private vessel, said spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz.

The USS Greeneville came up under the 180-foot vessel, ripping the engine room open and causing two resounding booms. Seconds later, water flooded the vessel, sinking it within minutes, said a Coast Guard translator describing Friday's collision nine miles south of Waikiki in waters about 1,800 feet deep.

"Most of the people were below deck in the rooms or galley," said Petty Officer Michael Carr, who interviewed the survivors. "After the lights went out, everyone started yelling that the water is coming into the ship. That's when most of the people we saw started fleeing."

The Greeneville, which remained at the scene of the collision, was not damaged, Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Cate Mueller said in Washington. It was not immediately known how many crew members were aboard the Greeneville, a Pearl Harbor-based sub that is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles.

"It's important to say the Navy regrets this unfortunate incident," said Cmdr. Bruce Cole, a spokesman for the Pacific Fleet. "We're very concerned about the families and friends of those for whom we search."

He said it is not known why the submarine surfaced under the vessel. Cole promised a full investigation.

U.S. submarines normally use sonar to listen for ships that might be above them before surfacing, said Norman Polmar, a naval analyst and author. As the submarines rise to within about 25 feet of the surface, they raise their periscopes to visually inspect the area above.

The collision is "something that should have not have happened. It either happened because of a mechanical failure or a crew failure," Polmar said.

Twenty-six survivors were found stranded amid the debris. They huddled in three life rafts before being rescued. Petty Officer Thomas Kron, who was on the Coast Guard patrol boat, said the survivors were soaked with diesel fuel that spilled when the boat sank.

"They seemed like they were in shock. They were fatigued by the time we got there. Some of them were seasick and some of them were glad to see us," he said.

The survivors were taken to the Coast Guard station at Honolulu Harbor's Sand Island. Some walked off on their own; others were carried on stretchers and covered in blankets. Fourteen were cared for at the base, including showers to wash off the fuel, while the rest were taken to local hospitals.

The collision happened just before 2 p.m. about 9 miles offshore of Diamond Head.

Officials said that the boat was the Japanese fishing training vessel, Ehime Maru, on an overnight stop in Hawaii.

The fishermen were assisted by the Coast Guard, the Japanese Consulate and Red Cross volunteers.

"They were really in high spirits after they talked to their families and kind of got settled in,? American Red Cross worker Jocelyn Collado said. ?We offered to put them up. The consulate took that up on their own."

After getting some food, a shower and new clothes from the Coast Guard, the uninjured survivors were taken to a hotel.

The rescue mission involved aircraft and vessels from the Coast Guard and Navy. Officials said that they will continue the search overnight and re-evaluate their plan in the morning.

Officials said that the USS Greeneville hit the boat as it surfaced.

"Everyone [on the ship] reported it was a complete shock,? Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Carr told KITV4 News. ?One loud explosion. Five seconds later, another even louder explosion. Then the lights went out. All within 15 seconds."

The Coast Guard said that the Ehime Maru had already sunk when rescue crews arrived.

"When we did our initial scan, when we got on scene, all we could see that was in the water was just debris,? Coast Guard rescue swimmer Gabe Sage said. ?We couldn't see any people, so everybody that we found on scene at the time was just in rafts."

Commander Bruce Cole of the U.S. Navy said that Admiral Thomas Fargo, the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet, made personal calls to the Japanese consul general in Hawaii to express his sincere regret over the incident.

Cole said that the Navy will conduct a full investigation to determine exactly what happened.

The nuclear submarine was commissioned on Feb. 16, 1996 and and christened on Sept. 17, 1994, by former Vice President Al Gore's wife, Tipper.

Stay with KITV4 News and TheHawaiiChannel.com for more on this developing story.