By DPA,
London : A British nuclear-powered submarine has run aground near an island off the west coast of Scotland, the ministry of defence (MoD) said Friday.
“This is not a nuclear incident. We are responding to the incident and can confirm that there are no injuries to personnel and the submarine remains watertight. There is no indication of any environmental impact,” the MoD statement said.
The incident, involving the HMS Astute, happened near the Isle of Skye. The BBC said the ship had hit rocks.
HMS Astute, which cost 3.5 billion pounds ($5.4 billion), was launched in 2007.
Its Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles are capable of delivering pin-point strikes at targets 2,000 km away.
But an MoD spokesman said the vessel carried no missiles and was on patrol.
The submarine’s nuclear reactor means that it does not need refuelling during its entire 25-year life span, and that it can circumnavigate the globe without coming up.