HONOLULU -- Thursday was the fifth anniversary of the fatal collision between a Japanese training boat and a U.S. Navy submarine off Oahu. Some relatives of the nine men and boys who died gathered on Thursday in Hawaii to remember them.

The USS Greenville submarine struck the Ehime Maru fishing boat about 9 miles off Diamond Head on Feb. 9, 2001.

Fourteen family members of three of the nine victims from the crash gathered at the Ehime Maru Memorial at Kakaako Waterfront Park to remember their loved ones. They prayed for peace and safety. Then there was a moment of silence at 1:43 p.m., the precise moment that the USS Greenville struck the fishing boat.

The nuclear-powered submarine surfaced beneath the fishing boat that was full of 35 students, teachers and crew from Uwajima Fisheries High School in Japan. Teams rescued 26 of them from the water.

Tatsuyoshi Mizuguchi, his wife, his daughter and a family friend draped leis on the memorial in remembrance of his son, Takeshi, the only victim whose body was never found.

"In some ways it seems like a very short time, in some ways it seems like a very long time. But for me, the five years have just flown by," Mizuguchi said. "This is an accident that should not have happened. However, the United States, from the president on down, has admitted to the blame for this accident."

Mizuguchi said his son planned to make fishing his career.

Honolulu's consul general from Japan prayed and gave a wreath, as did the mayor of Uwajima, Japan, where the boys were from. The U.S. Navy sent flower arrangements but no representative.

Then, the group walked a short distance to the ocean. There they threw flowers and food into water, hoping to nourish the spirits of their dead loved ones.

Mizuguchi threw homemade chocolate dumplings into the ocean. They were his son's favorite.

Mizuguchi said that while his son was never found, his son's digital camera was. He said the family was able to print the last photos his son took of his friends on board the boat, of Hawaii's scenic beauty and of the ocean off Oahu where his son died.

Relatives said they're grateful for the condolences and generous expressions of sorrow from the people of Hawaii for the accident.