MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Royal Navy confirms nuclear armed subs mid Atlantic collision

Nuclear sub HMS Vanguard

The Royal Navy has confirmed that a British nuclear submarine collided with a French one in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The crash between HMS Vanguard and France's Le Triomphant - both carrying atomic weapons - is believed to have occurred on February 3 or 4.

Despite being equipped with sonar to detect other vessels, neither submarine apparently realised the other was in the same part of the ocean. First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band released a statement confirming the incident. "Two submerged SSBN (Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear), one French and the other UK, were conducting routine national patrols in the Atlantic Ocean. Recently, the two submarines came into contact at very low speed. Both submarines remained safe and no injuries occurred". "We can confirm that the capability remained unaffected and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety. HMS Vanguard returned safely to Faslane under her own power on 14 February." A senior Royal navy source told London daily The Sun the potential consequences of such a collision were "unthinkable". He said: "It's very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion. But a radioactive leak was a possibility. Worse, we could have lost the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster." About 250 sailors were believed to have been on the submarines. Le Triomphant is based at L'Ile Longue near Brest, north-west France. On February 6, the French Government released a statement saying that its sub had "collided with an immersed object (probably a container)" and damaged its sonar dome. The British Ministry of Defence initially refused to confirm the incident, saying it was against policy to comment on submarine operations. However, a spokesman insisted nuclear security had not been breached. "We can confirm that the UK's deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety", said the spokesperson. Inquiries are under way on both sides of the Channel. HMS Vanguard is one of four nuclear submarines operated by the British navy as part of its Trident system - and one is always on deterrent patrol. Each vessel is 150 metres long and 13 metres in diameter. They can carry 16 missiles, weighing 35 tons each, which in turn carry six warheads with a range of about 5,000 miles.