Accessibility Help

Skip to
content

Skip to
bbc.co.uk search

Low
graphics

Help

Access
keys help

Search term

Explore the BBC

BBC News Updated every
minute of every day

One-Minute World News

News
Front Page

Africa

Americas

Asia-Pacific

Europe

Middle East

South Asia

UK

England

Northern
Ireland

Scotland

Wales

UK
Politics

Education

Magazine

Business

Health

Science &
Environment

Technology

Entertainment

Also in the
news

-----------------

Video and
Audio

-----------------

Have Your
Say

In Pictures

Country
Profiles

Special Reports

Related BBC sites

Sport

Weather

On
This Day

Editors' Blog

BBC World Service

Site Version

UK
Version

International
Version

About the
versions

Page last updated at 12:09 GMT,
Monday, 16 February 2009

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version

Nuclear subs 'collide in ocean'

HMS Vanguard is now back at its home base at
Faslane on the Clyde

A Royal Navy nuclear submarine was involved in a
collision with a French nuclear sub in the middle of the Atlantic,
it has been reported.

It is understood HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant were badly
damaged in the crash in heavy seas earlier this month.

Despite being equipped with sonar, it seems neither vessel
spotted the other, the BBC's Caroline Wyatt said.

The UK's Ministry of Defence is not commenting on the reports,
but insisted nuclear security had not been breached.

Our defence correspondent said HMS Vanguard, with "very visible
dents and scrapes", had to be towed back into its home base at
Faslane on the Firth of Clyde. The submarines were both
"seriously-armed", she also said.

HMS VANGUARD

Launched in 1992

One of four British submarines carrying
Trident nuclear missiles

Weighs 16,000 tonnes, 150m (492ft) long

Can carry 48 nuclear warheads on a maximum of
16 missiles

A two-year refit was completed in 2007 as part
of a £5bn contract

Due to be replaced in
2024

The reported incident is being investigated on both sides of the
Channel.

The two submarines are key parts of each nation's nuclear
deterrent, and would have been carrying missiles, though both the UK
and France have insisted there was no danger of a nuclear incident.

The two 150m-long (492ft) submarines were carrying around 240
sailors between them. A French naval spokesman said the collision
did not result in any injuries to the crew.

Le Triomphant is based at L'Ile Longue near Brest, north-west
France. HMS Vanguard arrived back in Faslane on Sunday night.

France's defence ministry said in a statement that Le Triomphant
"collided with an immersed object (probably a container)" when
coming back from patrolling.

"The sonar dome, at the front, was damaged. This incident did not
cause any injuries among the crew and did not threaten the nuclear
security at any time," it said.

LE TRIOMPHANT

Launched in 1994

One of four French ballistic missile
nuclear-powered submarines (SSBN)

Displacement (submerged) 14,000 tonnes, 138m
(452ft) long

Can carry 16 ballistic missiles with nuclear
warheads

110 crew, including 15 officers

Submerged speed over 25
knots

"The submarine came back by its own means to L'Ile Longue,
escorted by a frigate, as it is the usual practice when leaving or
coming back."

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament described the reported
collision as "a nuclear nightmare of the highest order".

CND chair Kate Hudson said: "The collision of two submarines,
both with nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons onboard, could have
released vast amounts of radiation and scattered scores of nuclear
warheads across the seabed."

Bookmark with:

Delicious

Digg

reddit

Facebook

StumbleUpon

What are
these?

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version

Print Sponsor

SEE ALSO

Whose hand is
on the button?
02 Dec 08 |  UK

Watchdog
warns on Trident timing
05 Nov
08 |  UK Politics

HMS
Vanguard leaves after refit
16 Dec
04 |  Devon

N-sub
arrives at yard for refit
16 Jan
05 |  Devon

FROM OTHER NEWS SITES

Guardian
Unlimited Nuclear submarines collide in
Atlantic - 29 mins ago

NDTV British,
French N-subs crash in Atlantic - 1 hr ago

CNN Reports:
British and French nuclear subs collide - 1 hr
ago

The
Scotsman Nuclear submarines 'in
collision' - 1 hr ago

The
Hindu British, French nuclear submarines crash in
Atlantic: report - 1 hr ago

About these
results

TOP UK
STORIES

850 jobs go
at Mini car factory

Rhys
killer's mother admits lying

Nuclear subs
'collide in ocean'

MOST
POPULAR STORIES NOW

E-MAILED

READ

WATCHED/LISTENED

Nuclear subs
'collide in ocean'

Dog turns into
expert climber

Pirate
Bay file-share case starts

Anti-terror
tactics 'weaken law'

Batman
Oscar contender tells all

Most
popular now, in detail

E-MAILED

READ

WATCHED/LISTENED

Nuclear
subs 'collide in ocean'

Pirate
Bay file-share case starts

Pakistan
agrees Sharia law deal

'US
missile strikes' hit Pakistan

Brown
sorry over assault arrest

Most
popular now, in detail

E-MAILED

READ

WATCHED/LISTENED

Mystery fireball captured on
film

Dog turns into expert
climber

How The Dark Knight was
made

'Meteor' streaks across
Sweden

Antarctica opens green polar
base

Most
popular now, in detail

FEATURES, VIEWS, ANALYSIS

Green
journey

The BBC's Ethical Man starts a trek across
the US

Pinki's
pride

Story of cleft-lip girl is India's other
Oscar hope

Batman
revealed

The special effects secrets behind The Dark
Knight

Skip to
top

PRODUCTS
& SERVICES

E-mail
news

Mobiles

Alerts

News
feeds

Podcasts

Explore the BBC

Home

Popular links

Being
Human

Doctor
Who

BBC
Archive

BBC links A to F

BBC
iPlayer

CBBC

CBeebies

Food

BBC links H to L

Health

History

Learning

Local &
Nations

BBC links M to Sc

Music

News

Radio

Science &
Nature

BBC links Sp to W

Sport

TV

Weather

A whole lot
more

To
top

Site Links

News Sources

About BBC News

BBC links

About the BBC

BBC Help

Contact Us

Accessibility
Help

Terms of Use

Jobs

Privacy
& Cookies

Advertise With Us

©
MMIX

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external
internet sites.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date
web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the
content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the
full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or
enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.