Cmdr. Scott Waddle, former skipper of the USS Greeneville, apologized Thursday afternoon to the families of the nine missing sailors and students from the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru.

Sources told KITV4 News that Waddle (pictured, right) cried as he made the apology after the Navy's court of inquiry session.

"All fault is mine," Waddle told the families. "I can't ask for forgiveness. This is a burden I will carry to the grave.''

The families said during a news conference that Waddle told them that his superiors and attorneys had advised against apologizing to the families.

"All we wanted was Waddle's apology," said Ryosuke Terata, the father of one of the missing students from the Ehime Maru. "He apologized to us today. So I feel it's not necessary to ask for any more apologies."

Waddle last month issued written apologies to each of the families.

During Thursday's inquiry session, the admiral who conducted the Navy's preliminary investigation said that he didn't believe that Waddle was criminally negligent.

The statement could be a big victory for Waddle, who faces the possibility of a court-martial for the Feb. 9 collision if he is found criminally responsible.

Rear Adm. Charles Griffiths said during cross-examination by Waddle's attorney, Charles Gittins, that the Greeneville "was a good ship that had a bad day ... in which some mistakes were made."

But Griffiths said that in his opinion, "Cmdr. Waddle was not criminally negligent."

Gittins focused on the performance of the sub's fire-control technician, which ABCNEWS has learned was Petty Officer Patrick Seacrest, 34.

Gittins got Griffiths to acknowledge that Seacrest "could have changed history" if he reported a sudden change in position and distance of the Ehime Maru to Waddle.

A naval investigation determined that the technician neglected to notify the Greeneville's skipper that the Ehime Maru was within 10,000 yards of the sub, in violation of a standing order. The technician told investigators that he stopped manually plotting the position of surface ships because of the number of civilians in his work area and that he thought Waddle was getting the Ehime Maru information from sonar.

Seacrest, who has served on at least four submarines since 1988, was assigned to the Greeneville two years ago, according to ABCNEWS. He has worked as a fire control technician for at least nine years.

Crew members close to Seacrest told ABCNEWS that he believes the full story behind the fatal accident has not been made public and the complete picture of what happened at the fire control station is much more complicated than the U.S. Navy has so far portrayed.

Griffiths did praise the crew of the Greeneville for its rescue efforts after the collision during his testimony. According to Griffiths, the crew "acted prudently and with urgency" to begin search and rescue operations.

Griffiths investigation found that Waddle and other officers rushed to the bridge before the sub had fully surfaced, while other crewmen prepared the mess hall for casualties and divers suited up.

But Griffiths said that the crew only saw people in life rafts and that sea swells made it unsafe for the crew to transfer survivors into the Greeneville. But he added that the submarine moved closer to one raft carrying a lone victim in case he needed assistance.

Meanwhile, officials in Washington said Thursday that Navy engineers are expected to present a formal proposal to the Japanese early next week for lifting the Ehime Maru from the ocean floor.

A final decision on how to proceed is not expected until several days after that.

A Japanese delegation has been in Washington since Monday meeting with experts at the Naval Sea Systems Command, the Navy's technical division.

Navy spokesman Cmdr. Greg Smith said that a Dutch salvage company that may take up the bulk of the recovery effort presented its contract proposal for dealing with the 500-ton Ehime Maru to the Navy Thursday.

He said that the Navy will evaluate the proposal over the next several days.

The training vessel for fishing students sank within minutes of being hit on February ninth by the USS Greeneville during a surfacing drill nine miles off Diamond Head.

Four Japanese students, two teachers and three crewmen were lost and may be entombed in the Ehime Maru in 2,000 feet of water.

Previous Stories:

• March 8, 2001: Waddle's Attorney Begins Cross-Examination
• March 7, 2001: Attorney: Waddle Will Not Testify
• March 6, 2001: Cheap Tickets Hits 10 Million Online Subscribers
• March 6, 2001: Court Of Inquiry Looks For Answers
• March 3, 2001: Sub Skipper Wants Immunity
• March 2, 2001: Ehime Maru School Students Graduate
• March 1, 2001: Waddle: 'Part Of Me Died' In Collision
• March 1, 2001: Carlisle, Donohue Among Sub Guests
• February 27, 2001: Japan: Bush Considering Salvage Of Sunken Ship
• February 26, 2001: Waddle Has 'Sincere Regret' About Collision
• February 25, 2001: Sub Investigation Could Widen
• February 22, 2001: Navy Court Of Inquiry Could Be Delayed
• February 20, 2001: Navy Likely To Raise Ehime Maru
• February 20, 2001: Sub Mishap Survivors Still Haunted
• February 19, 2001: Sucess Of Raising Ehime Maru 'Questionable'
• February 19, 2001: Robot Sub Hauled Out For Repairs
• February 19, 2001: Tennessee Town Supports Sub Crew
• February 16, 2001: Search Continues While NTSB Interviews Sub Crew
• February 15, 2001: Police Warn Of Sub Victim Fund Scam
• February 15, 2001: Japanese Outraged Over Sub Revelation
• February 15, 2001: Two Island Residents On Greeneville
• February 15, 2001: Help Identify The Civilians On The Sub
• February 14, 2001: Sub Captain Could Face Criminal Inquiry
• February 13, 2001: Ehime Maru Crew Describes Disaster
• February 12, 2001: Bush Offers Prayer For Sub Victims
• February 12, 2001: Latest On Submarine Crash Investigation
• February 12, 2001: NTSB Begins Sub Collision Probe
• February 11, 2001: Ehime Maru Captain Speaks
• February 11, 2001: Sub Commander Reassigned As Search Continues
• February 11, 2001: Sub Collided During Emergency Maneuver