UK Tug goes BUMP against ASTUTE

Looks like the Tug that was sent to pull the Astute of the rocks, caused more damage than the grounding.
Here is the Snip from the Daily Record:

Revealed: Rescue tug crashed into stranded submarine HMS Astute causing millions of pounds of damage
Nov 4 2010 Exclusive by Craig McDonald

THE tug sent to rescue the Navy's grounded showpiece submarine crashed into her and tore off one of her fins, the Record can reveal.

And insiders fear the damage from the collision will cost millions to fix.

We have learned that HMS Astute got away with relatively minor dents when she got stuck on a shingle bank off Skye two weeks ago.

But when Coastguard tug Anglian Prince tried to pull the £1billion nuclear-powered sub free, the two vessels collided.

The impact ripped off Astute's starboard foreplane, one of her navigation fins.

A source said last night: "The damage from the grounding was minor. Astute just had some denting to her casing, which is nothing massively serious for a ship of her size.

"But the damage done by the tug could result in a multi-million pound repair bill. It's ironic."

It's understood the Anglian Prince ran into Astute after her crew attached a tow rope to the sub.

We have been told the rope got snagged in the tug's propellers and the two vessels were pulled together.

The repairs to Astute, described as the world's most modern submarine, are expected to take weeks. Sources say she's not likely to be able to resume her sea trials before March next year.

Astute got stuck near the Skye Bridge on the morning of October 22 as her crew practised transferring personnel from shore to the sub during the trials.

The 100-metre long vessel was stranded for 10 hours as bemused locals gathered on the shore to take photos.

The Anglian Prince was sent from her base in Stornoway to rescue her and the Astute was dragged free at about 6pm.

Divers checked her hull for damage before she headed back to her base at Faslane on the Clyde under her own power.

She was hauled from the water last Thursday so experts could examine her hull and rudder.

A Navy spokesman confirmed last night: "There was a collision between Astute and a tug, which resulted in damage to the submarine's starboard foreplane.

"This will be repaired at Faslane and trials will resume in due course.

"The inquiry into the damage sustained by Astute is now complete, although the findings have still to be released to naval officers."

The Navy has also launched an inquiry into why the sub ran aground.

Reports at the time said she was outside a safe sea lane, clearly marked on Admiralty charts, at the time. A Navy spokesman said last month: "One of the things being looked at is if the charts were up to date with recent seabed changes in the area. The seabed can change quickly."

The probe will look at possible negligence by the crew. The Navy have refused to speculate on whether the Astute's commander, Andy Coles, could face a court martial.

Astute, the first in a class of six new submarines, was launched in 2007 and formally commissioned into the Navy this August.

She weighs 7800 tons - as much as nearly 1000 double-decker buses.

Her nuclear reactor means she will never have to be refuelled and she makes her own air and water supplies. She can sail around the world without having to surface.

She doesn't carry nuclear weapons but is armed with Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles which can hit targets 1200 miles away.

The sub has 39,000 acoustic panels on her surface which mask her sonar signature and allow her to sneak up on enemy ships.

The Coastguard tug fleet was set up in 1994 after the Braer oil spill off Shetland. It is on standby 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and is kept at 30 minutes "readiness to sail".

But days before the Anglian Prince rescued Astute, the Con-Dems announced that the tugs were being axed to save money.

The SNP MP for the Western Isles, Angus MacNeil, said: "The most expensive and advanced submarine in the world has had to be pulled to safety by the tugboat which the Westminster government wants to scrap.

"The Anglian Prince is a vital service. It is regrettable that it is to be removed."



Also, I found an interesting video of a sub and tug bumping. From what I understand it is the USS Georgia off of Midway Island.

www.youtube.com...

hm first link didnt work :S

Hope I did it right!