The Nation - News from Aug. 28, 1988

Citing a projected $100-million repair cost, Navy investigators have recommended scrapping the fire-damaged submarine Bonefish, the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star reported. Three sailors were killed and 23 injured in April when the diesel-powered vessel caught fire off the Florida coast. A report suggests scrapping the 30-year-old sub but does not suggest how to do it. Investigators said the fire was caused by a wet battery cable that short-circuited, and not by a buildup of hydrogen gas as first thought. The Bonefish was one of the Navy’s four diesel-electric attack subs, all built in the 1950s and all to be decommissioned by the end of this decade.