Wow, is this going to ever be expensive...

...if it can be fixed at all. A ding like this looks like something with the potential to permanently screw up a submarine's noise- and friction-suppressing countours.

For once, it may be a good thing Japan retires its oldest subs at absurdly young ages, well before the end of their effective service lives. Whichever submarine was scheduled to be the next forced into premature retirement may have just won itself a few years a reprieve from the cutting torch.

Later: It seems that francophone minds think alike.