A British Vanguard-class nuclear submarine with a crew of 140 and Trident-2 missiles came close to sinking in the Atlantic due to a malfunctioning depth gauge, according to sources reported by The Sun.
The submarine was preparing for patrol when its depth indicators stopped working, leading commanders to believe it was at a steady depth, even though it was still descending, the newspaper writes. They entered a “danger zone” until engineers noticed a second sensor and raised the alarm. The depth and name of the vessel are not disclosed.
A tabloid source stated that monitoring the submarine’s depth is not the responsibility of the engineers, “but they saw how deep it was and realized something was wrong.” He noted that the submarine was not supposed to be at such a depth and could have descended further. “If this had continued, it would have been unthinkable,” emphasized the source.
An urgent investigation into the incident has been initiated.
The United Kingdom has four Vanguard-class submarines, but currently only two are operational.
It was previously reported that the UK plans to replace its old submarines of this type and upgrade its nuclear warheads.
Earlier, North Korea referred to the US submarine’s visit to South Korea as a “condition for the use of nuclear weapons.”
