there was a civilian in command at the time. He was a rich perosn who was offering to fix up the USS Missouri if they took him on a ride. So, they did. I find it hard to believe that passive sonar couldnt find anything. Passive Sonar can detect a sub driver on another boat dropping a quarter, but it cant pick up a bunch of fishermen. I dont know if any of you have seen fishing boats before, but they are normally pretty rowdy people.