I see! A campaign/scenario problem! That's a tater area of expertise. I suggest you PM him and I'd be VERY surprised if he can't get you sorted out. And you can tell him beyond a doubt that you have eliminated any game installation issues with your two advanced Silent Hunter surgeries.
I'm stepping WAY out of my own knowledge pool, but it sounds like a crash when a certain type of ship is sighted. Keep us posted on what you find out because for some people this would be a deal-breaker on SH4. And it's most likely not SH4's fault, defect-wise.