HMS Superb nuclear submarine damaged in Red Sea crash
Pastor Dale Morgan
HMS Superb nuclear submarine damaged in Red Sea crash*
Last Updated: 10:35PM BST 27/05/2008
A British nuclear-powered submarine was damaged when it collided with
rocks in the Red Sea, the Ministry of Defence has said.
HMS Superb is in international waters but unable to dive because of the
damage to sonar equipment
HMS Superb hit an underwater rock on Monday and damaged its sonar
equipment, forcing it to surface.
None of the crew was hurt and the submarine is watertight, an MoD
spokesman said.
Superb, a Swiftsure-class attack submarine with a crew of 112, hit an
underwater pinnacle 80 miles south of Suez.
The 272-foot vessel had passed through the canal and was in the northern
Red Sea when she grounded. No other vessel was involved.
An MoD spokesman said the submarine's nuclear reactor was "completely
unaffected" and there was "no environmental impact" from the collision.
"There were no casualties and the submarine remains watertight, is safe
on the surface and able to operate under her own power," he said.
The vessel is in international waters but unable to dive because of the
damage to sonar equipment.
The Royal Navy is examining how to return the vessel to port and a full
investigation is under way, with a Board of Inquiry to follow.
The crew's next of kin are being informed, the MoD said.
Last Friday the Telegraph reported on an official MoD inquiry which
found that another nuclear submarine suffered £5 million damage after it
crashed into the seabed because officers used tracing paper to plot her
course.
Travelling at 14 knots (about 16mph), the 5,000-ton Trafalgar submarine
crashed 165ft below the surface in waters off the Isle of Skye,
Scotland, in 2002. Its nuclear reactor was undamaged.
Three crewmen were injured when the hunter-killer submarine turned into
rocks because trainee commanders could not see vital symbols which had
been covered by the paper.
Senior officers supervising the course were criticised for serious
lapses after the tracing paper was put over charts to prevent pen marks
damaging the maps.
The paper hid ocean bed contours and symbols which showed underwater
current strengths. The boat's satellite navigating system had been
turned off to increase the stress on the trainee captain during the
examination nicknamed "Pressure Cooker''. Post-It notes were also placed
over other vital systems to simulate battle damage.
The submarine required an 18-month refit when it finally limped back
into the Faslane submarine base.