British and French subs collide

British and French governments insist the submarine crash did not endanger security or nuclear safety.

British and French nuclear submarines collided in the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month, media reports said today. The British vessel HMS Vanguard and its French counterpart Le Triomphant were both damaged in the crash in the early hours of Feb 4, but there were no reports of damage to the nuclear parts, said The Daily Telegraph and The Sun newspapers. France's defence ministry said on Feb 6 that Le Triomphant, a ballistic nuclear submarine, was damaged when it hit an object under water earlier that week. It did not identify the object.

The British submarine has now been towed to its Faslane base in western Scotland for repair, reports said. The two submarines are equipped with sonar to detect other vessels. Both vessels ? between them carrying about 250 sailors ? were reportedly submerged and on separate missions when they crashed. The British ministry of defence refuses to comment on submarine operations but a spokesman said: "The UK's deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety."

French officials made no comment on the latest media reports. France's defence ministry said on Feb 6 that no-one was injured and there was no security threat from the incident it acknowledged. Le Triomphant, one of France's four nuclear-armed submarines, hit the object ? said at the time to be probably a container ? while submerging, and immediately returned to base at Ile-Longue, near Brest in north-west France.

"The sonar dome situated in the front was damaged," said a statement from the navy, adding that the incident "did not result in injuries among the crew and did not jeopardise nuclear security at any moment." Each vessel is 150 metres long and 13 metres in diameter, and can carry up to 48 nuclear warheads on a maximum of 16 missiles. The BBC, which also reported the collision, said the vessels were both "seriously armed".

* AFP