MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

HMS Tireless in Gibraltar amidst growing protest.

Protests from all quarters in Spain re-opened the wounds of the HMS Tireless saga as the nuclear submarine sailed into Gibraltar last Friday.

The submarine, which according to Ministry of Defence officials is in port for a routine visit, was the subject of controversy when it stayed in Gibraltar from May 2000 to May 2001 carrying out repairs to its reactor cooling system, provoking safety fears from the Gibraltarian and neighboring Spanish population.

HMS Tireless docked in Gibraltar's waters under the watchful eye of a pack of Spanish and local journalists gathering at Coaling Island. Calls for mass protests from Spanish environmentalists appeared to bear no fruit as the arrival was peaceful and non-eventful.

But Spanish newspapers were brimming with quotes from the Spanish Foreign Ministry expressing ?displeasure and deep discomfort' by Britain's ?lack of sensitivity' to Spanish public opinion. In a number of statements to the press, the Ministry says it wants to maintain the best of relations with Britain, but that this visit represents a ?black mark' in these relations. Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos described the visit as a ?fresh provocation' by the British armed forces.

Meanwhile environmental group Ecologistas en Acción has called for a ?mass reaction' with the same vigor as when HMS Tireless first visited in 2000, despite the fact that there has been a change of Government in Spain. The group began by hanging a huge black flag in the fence along the coast between the Rock and Spain.

Spokesman Antonio Muñoz said HMS Tireless and all other Trafalgar class submarines had ?experienced many problems'. Furthermore, he said, "when nuclear submarines come back from wars and dock in UK ports, they make contingency safety plans and hand out radiation tablets ? here we have nothing".

HMS Tireless this Monday will be open to Gibraltar visitors.