British reports have revealed that a "nuclear submarine belonging to the British Navy, equipped with nuclear missiles and a crew of 140 people, nearly sank due to a malfunction in its depth gauge." The newspaper "The Sun" stated that the British submarine, which had 140 personnel onboard, "was preparing to conduct a patrol in the Atlantic Ocean when its depth sensors malfunctioned." As a result of the failure, the submarine carrying Trident II ballistic missiles was close to entering a "dangerous zone."
A source told the newspaper: "It's not the engineers' job to control the submarine's depth, but they saw how deep it was and realized something was wrong." The source added: "Technically, the Vanguard was still at a depth where we know it can operate, but if it had gone to that depth, the entire crew would have been sent to their stations."
A spokesperson for the British Navy noted that they "do not comment on operations. Our submarines continue to patrol around the world to protect our national interests."
Britain has four Vanguard-class submarines, but only two are currently operational. One is undergoing a major refurbishment, while the other is undergoing sea trials after repairs that exceeded the planned budget of £300 million.
