18.02.2009
The French and British navies should disclose information about the site of the collision of their nuclear submarines in order for an environmental monitoring to take place, a high-ranking source in the Russian military intelligence service said, according to Ria Novosti. There has been no official information on the matter, but according to the Russian military intelligence service, “The incident took place in the part of the Atlantic that abuts the southern part of Europe.”
The source said that the incident should be made the subject of a thorough investigation by the international community to make sure there was no release of radioactive material. He added that the silence after two weeks of the navies of the two countries regarding the incident was worrisome.
“Why was the fact of the collision kept secret from the very beginning? Apparently there was good reason for that. Such a collision could have resulted in pollution of this region of the Atlantic, or the subs were on a special mission,” the source noted. He added that declarations by high-ranking officials from the two navies that “it was almost a simple sea walk and there is nothing serious in the collision of the subs” were strange.
“One way or the other, international organizations, including environmental organizations, should be informed about the region where the incident took place. An environmental expertise must be conducted there and at the bases of the subs involved,” the source said.
The
Vanguard and the
Le Triomphant, two nuclear subs of the French and Royal navies, respectively, collided between February 3 and 4, though news reports about the incident surfaced only latter. The British sub was towed to a port in the country after the incident, and the French sub was able to return to its base near the French city of Brest on its own.
The two subs sustained minor damages. The defense ministries of the two countries announced that there was no danger of a leak of nuclear fuel, although the two subs carried nuclear weapons.
The British side has not commented on the reasons behind the incident. At the same time, according to the French Defense Ministry, the fact that the two subs are technologically very advanced, which causes them to be practically invisible, must have been what caused the collision.
Source:
Translation:
RusNavy.com
