they're essentially saying nothing. at some point word would get out that the sub hit something - people talk. and then the story would be "this sub hit somet

they're essentially saying nothing. at some point word would get out that the sub hit something - people talk. and then the story would be "this sub hit something, and the navy is keeping it secret" a statement like this is just an acknowledgement of facts that would become public anyways, and a pre-emptive refusal to provide any further details. it exists so that when a somebody asks a question, they can say "please refer to our already published statement"