Royal Navy submarine in near miss with ferry

The third near miss in four years between a Royal Navy submarine and a civilian vessel has sparked “significant concern”.

A report into the incident between a submerged submarine and a Stena ferry said that without the “great presence of mind” of the officer of the watch on the civilian craft, there was a significant chance of a collision.

It occurred between Belfast and Cairnryan on Nov 6 2018. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said the submarine’s commanding officer and its officer of the watch made safetycritical decisions that “might have appeared rational to them at the time” but based on inaccurate information.