British and French nuclear-powered submarines carrying nuclear-tipped missiles collided while patrolling deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean, according to news organization reports.
The U.K. boat HMS Vanguard apparently was struck by the French sub Le Triomphant at a location underseas that wasn’t disclosed for security reasons.
A bow sonar dome on the French boat was damaged, and the British sub sustained scrapes and dents. Both vessels returned to ports in their respective countries.
Initially, they were unaware that they had struck each other, with the French surmising that perhaps Le Triomphant had struck a submerged cargo container.
The likelihood of such a collision in the vastness of the ocean is extremely remote.
However, mishaps can occur. In the U.S. Navy, for example, a submarine surfaced rapidly and rammed a Japanese commercial vessel in the Pacific. Another U.S. sub had contact with a ship in the Mediterranean. Another U.S. sub rammed into an undersea mountain in the Pacific. And just recently, a Navy surface combatant ship ran aground.
The two submarines were operating at very low speed, and may not have been operating their sonar gear, so as not to give away their locations.
Because of the darkness at great depths in the sea, one can’t use periscopes to see and avoid other subs.