Donegal Fishing Boat Nearly Hit by Submarine
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Donegal fishermen are counting their lucky stars after a near-miss with a submarine last week.
A shocked fisherman has described his close encounter with a submarine, which emerged from the water 200 yards away from his boat.
According to a report in RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta Seán Briain, from Machaire Rabhartaigh said he was setting crab pots 14 miles northwest of Tory Island, last Thursday, when he came face to face with what appears to be an Astute-class Royal Navy submarine.
“Last Thursday about 11 am we were setting crab pots when we saw the submarine coming from the northwest. It went round in front of us, about 200 yards away,” Sean said.
Briain added that daylight added to their luck both this time and in a similar incident this time last year, as they were able to take evasive action.
Yesterday, Britain’s Ministry of Defence admitted that a Royal Navy submarine was responsible for dragging a trawler backwards off the Northern Ireland coast earlier this year.