| Nuclear
Sub Hits
"Free Floating Object"
Telegraph
News
Posted May 26, 2003
 By
Pippa Dunlop
A Royal Navy nuclear submarine was returning to base today
after hitting an object, believed to be an iceberg, while
submerged.
The
accident involving Tireless is the latest in a series of mishaps
to befall the British fleet.
The
vessel suffered minor damage to its ballast tank during the
collision with a "free floating object", a Ministry
of Defence spokesman said. There were no injuries to the 100
crew.
Tireless,
which was believed to have been on patrol in the Arctic Circle,
was forced to return to Faslane submarine base on the Clyde.
There it will undergo a full damage assessment before repair
work is carried out.
The
incident is the third underwater submarine collision in the
last three years. Last year a sister vessel, Trafalgar, underwent
repairs costing £5 million after running aground off
the Isle of Skye.
The
accident also comes on top of the £300 million repairs
for the destroyer Nottingham which struck submerged rocks
off Australia in July 2002.
The
MoD spokesman would not comment on reports the vessel had
struck an iceberg while in the Arctic area but said: "She
was submerged and hit a free floating object."
Tireless
is one of seven 4,750-ton nuclear powered Trafalgar Class
submarines, based in Devonport, Plymouth.
Telegraph
News
-
Back to News Home -
|