Post date: Oct 22, 2010 1:47:17 PM
The Royal Navy's most advanced nuclear submarine runs aground off Scotland.
RIVER CLYDE, SCOTLAND, UK ITN - A new British Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine ran aground off the coast of north-west Scotland on Friday (October 22), the Ministry of Defence said.
A spokesman insisted it was "not a nuclear incident" and said there were no injuries to personnel, declaring the submarine watertight.
The MoD identified the boat as an Astute-class submarine, adding that it was not armed with nuclear warheads. It said it was "assessing the situation".
The recently commissioned HMS Astute is the first of a new class of nuclear-powered submarines.
HMS Astute was commissioned into the navy in August and was undergoing sea trials before becoming operational.
According to the Royal Navy's website, it is the largest and most advanced sub the navy operates and will progressively replace the 'Swiftsure' and 'Trafalgar' classes.
The Maritime and Coastguard said it was alerted to the incident at about 0720 GMT and had sent an emergency tugboat to assist.
The coastguard said the submarine appeared to have got into trouble on rocks off the Isle of Skye.
It's not the first time a British nuclear submarine has run aground off north-west Scotland.
In 2002 HMS Trafalgar got into trouble off the Isle of Skye during a military exercise and two crew were slightly injured in the accident.
As part of a major defence review unveiled on Tuesday (October 19), the government confirmed it would go ahead with an order for seven new Astute-class submarines, built by BAE Systems.