Although most sources claim that the American submarine was trailing her Russian counterpart, some authors believe that neither Kostroma nor Baton Rouge had been able to locate each other before the collision.

The US government tasked the Navy to continue keeping a close watch on the main bases of Russian nuclear submarines to monitor developments.

[13] Miasnikov maintains that the submarines of the Los Angeles class are unable to detect acoustic signals from targets located within a cone of 60 degrees astern, thus the most probable scenario was that Kostroma approached Baton Rouge from behind.

[7][14] The US Navy claimed that besides some scratches, dents, and two minor cuts on her port ballast tank,[15] Baton Rouge did not suffer major damage.

[18] According to Gregory Stitz, curator of Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum,[2] and some European sources,[1] the costs of repairing the damaged pressure hull, along with a programmed refueling, were well beyond the planned budget.

The Russian Navy accused the United States of continuing intelligence operations around Russia's home waters despite the end of the cold war.

All of this prompted the US Navy to stop some specific submarine activities off Russian bases, such as tapping underwater cables or intercepting wireless communications.