Some of the civilians aboard the USS Greeneville when it collided with the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru told investigators that they were told not to say anything about some of the drills conducted before the Feb. 9 tragedy.

The revelations come from National Transportation Safety Board interviews with the civilians. The transcripts of the interviews were released Wednesday.

• Click here to read the transcripts of the interviews

"You read the press that the maximum depth of the submarine is 600 feet or 800 feet or whatever the number was," Michael Mitchell said. "We exceeded that depth."

Hawaii resident Susan Nolan told investigators that officers asked them not mention to others that Greeneville skipper Cmdr. Scott Waddle took the submarine below 800 feet during the civilians' tour.

"They said that we are not suppose to tell anybody else," Nolan told investigators.

Waddle admitted during the Navy's court of inquiry that he took the sub to a depth not allowed when civilians are on board.

Some of the visitors also described a demonstration in which they put Styrofoam cups into one of the torpedo tubes. After the sub submerged, the civilians retrieved the cups, which had shrunk in the extra pressure of the tubes.

The interviews covered all stages of the voyage, from the time the group left Pearl Harbor the morning of Feb. 9 to the time they returned the next day. They revealed little that was not already known from the naval inquiry.

The visitors said that the crew was professional and that officers, some of the civilians called them baby sitters, shadowed them all the time. They also said they were told not to interfere with the sub's operations.

"(Captain said) if you choose to stay on in the control room I have very strict rules," Susan Schnur said. "You do not get in the way, you do not touch anything and -- touch anything without permission -- and you do not talk."

"My impressions of the crew, unbelievably professional, you know, in everything that they were doing," Michael Mitchell said.

Click here to read a letter from the families of the Ehime Maru victims

Previous Stories:

• March 20, 2001: Sub Skipper Chastised By Admirals
• March 19, 2001: Sub Technician Stopped Tracking Japanese Ship
• March 19, 2001: Admiral Denies Waddle Immunity
• March 17, 2001: Minutes Could Have Stopped Sub Collision
• March 15, 2001: Ehime Maru Captain Describes Collision
• March 14, 2001: Sub Commander's Style At Heart Of Inquiry
• March 13, 2001: Admiral: Sub Commander Responsible For Safety
• March 12, 2001: Ehime Maru Captain Returns To Islands
• March 10, 2001: Attorney Challenges Expert Witness
• March 9, 2001: Waddle Apologizes To Families
• March 8, 2001: Waddle's Attorney Begins Cross-Examination
• March 7, 2001: Attorney: Waddle Will Not Testify
• 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: 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: 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 14, 2001: Sub Captain Could Face Criminal Inquiry
• February 13, 2001: OHA Responds To State Audit
• 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