Royal Navy’s nuclear submarine averts greatest tragedy, 140 crew on board escape death: Report

Around 140 crew inside the nuclear submarine of the Royal Navy had a near-death experience after the vessel’s gauge malfunctioned and began sinking towards an unsafe depth, according to British media reports.

According to the Sun news outlet, a depth gauge failed on one of the Vanguard class submarines, which was also carrying two Trident 2 missiles, during its deployment in the Atlantic Ocean. The sub had been in service for 30 years.

A depth gauge is an instrument that gives information on how far the submarine is below the surface water.

Saved in the nick of time

The nuclear submarine’s dials stopped working suddenly when it was about to go on a patrol. Commanders falsely believed that the sub was level but in fact, it was sinking towards the sea floor.

When the vessel was about to enter the “danger zone” of depth that the submarine can withstand, prompt engineers at the other side of the 500ft vessel noticed a second dial and raised the alarm as it plummeted towards the "danger zone", the Sun reported.

“It’s not the engineers’ job to control the sub’s depth but they saw how deep they were and realised something was wrong,” a source told the Sun.

“Technically the sub was still at a depth where we know it can operate, but if it ever has to go that deep the whole crew is piped to action-stations.

“That hadn’t happened. The sub wasn’t supposed to be there, and it was still diving. And if it had carried on going, it doesn’t really bear thinking about.”

Greatest tragedy averted

Had the nuclear sub reached the dangerous depths of the sea, it would have caused one of the greatest tragedies in history.

The sub or the depths involved have not been named for security reasons.

Commenting on the incident, the Royal Navy spokesperson said, “Our submarines continue to meet their commitments, deploying globally on operations, protecting national interests, and keeping us and our allies safe. While we do not comment on specific details regarding submarine operations, safety of our personnel is always the highest priority.”

The Royal Navy has four aging Vanguard vessels, which are set to be replaced by the Dreadnought class, which are currently being built, and estimated to be commissioned in the 2030s.

(With inputs from agencies)