Royal Navy launches probe after stunned ferry passengers spot huge nuclear submarine on surface
THE Navy has launched a probe after a huge nuclear submarine was spotted on the surface near a passenger ferry.
The MoD is remaining tight-lipped over the incident when startled passengers who saw the sub off the stern of the MV Loch Seaforth.
The incident on Sunday happened off the entrance to Loch Broom in Wester Ross as the CalMac ferry plied its route from Ullapool to Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides.
Several passengers took photographs.
One said: "My husband and I were looking out the back for dolphins and whales when we saw something totally unexpected - a big black submarine. It was suddenly there on the surface.
"I don’t know if it just ‘popped up’, but it stayed on the surface for quite a while until we could no longer see it. It was a bit of a surprise.”
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The submarine may have been a Vanguard-class vessel that carries Britain’s nuclear deterrent. All four - Vanguard, Victorious, Vigilant and Vengeance - are based at HM Naval Base Clyde.
Each submarine is armed with up to 16 UGM-133 Trident II missiles. The class is scheduled to be replaced starting in the early 2030s with the Dreadnought-class submarine.
For 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Royal Navy Vanguard-class submarines patrol the world’s oceans “silent, undetected and ready to strike at any time. Their very presence sends a powerful message to those who would do us harm,” says the Navy.
The Navy was remaining tight-lipped over the ferry incident.
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A spokesperson said: “In the interests of security, we do not routinely comment on submarine operations. However, we will investigate this further to establish the full circumstances.”
CalMac said it was not a matter for it to comment on.
In 2010 the Royal Navy’s then newest and largest attack submarine HMS Astute embarrassingly run aground off Skye.
Described as the stealthiest ever built in the UK, the £1bn boat was being put through sea trials and was not armed.
And Submarine HMS Trafalgar sustained millions of pounds worth of damage when it ran aground off Skye in 2002.
Two senior commanders were reprimanded after admitting that their negligence caused the incident.
The sea around Skye and the island of Raasay is used as a training ground for the Royal Navy.
Experts have warned that Atlantic waters could be the “new battle space of the future” because it’s a global internet hub and a base for many worldwide tech firms.
Russia’s interest in the undersea cables that traverse the Atlantic Ocean first emerged in 2015, when the US military saw Russian submarines and naval vessels operating in areas where the cables are laid.
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