Key Points and Summary on Astute-Class That Ran Aground – In a deeply embarrassing incident for the British Royal Navy, the HMS Astute, a new $1.3 billion nuclear-powered attack submarine, ran aground off the coast of Scotland in 2010.
-The state-of-the-art “hunter-killer” was stuck on a silt bank for hours during sea trials.
-An official inquiry later blamed the grounding on the Officer of the Watch’s “non-adherence to correct procedures” and a lack of situational awareness, including a failure to use the submarine’s primary radar.
-The incident served as a cautionary tale about the critical importance of basic seamanship, even on the most advanced warships.
Cascade of Events Led to HMS Astute Submarine Grounding
In 2010, the British Royal Navy went through an incident that fills all sailors with dread. One of its best submarines went aground. It happened to the HMS Astute, the lead boat of the Astute-class. This sub is a prime vessel that is fast and stealthy—one of the largest and quietest boats in the Royal Navy’s fleet.
The HMS Astute hunter-killer was undergoing sea trials off Skye on Scotland’s west coast. This advanced submarine was the pride of the British silent service and cost $1.3 billion. Thankfully, the sub was just going through sea trials and carrying no torpedoes or missiles.
The nuclear reactor was not harmed. No injuries were reported, and the boat remained “water-tight” throughout the incident.
Getting the Astute Out of Trouble
The Royal Navy figured that the submarine was stuck on silt and not rock. Therefore, it could be quickly towed back into the water. Personnel waited for high tide before attempting to extract HMS Astute. Once freed from entrapment, the navy hoped it could hit deeper water, and divers were sent to search for damage to the hull. The sub was later towed back to its home base at Faslane on the Clyde naval base.
Civilian Witness Recounts Embarrassing Incident
A civilian eyewitness couldn’t believe what he saw since the HMS Astute is so large and it rarely surfaces. “When I woke up this morning and looked out my bedroom window I could see the submarine,” Ross McKerlich told the BBC. The boat looked tilted and in a precarious situation. A naval helicopter was overhead to coordinate the rescue.
The incident happened in shallow water that would not even be safe for a smaller pleasure craft, much less a large submarine, the witness explained.
Adhering to Admiralty Charts Should Have Kept This From Happening
Plus, sea charts marked the area off limits for large vessels. Sea buoys were marking the lane that should have alerted the commander of the sub and its crew. Charts also showed that there were rocks in the area that would be a danger to HMS Astute.
What About the Nuclear Reactor?
Another factor is that the nuclear reactor requires an excessive amount of seawater to cool the propulsion system. With the Astute in such shallow water, the sub needed to get back in deeper seas to make sure the reactor did not overheat. There are backup systems for this contingency, but all sailors on board were alerted to the danger.
The Astute is covered with 39,000 acoustic panels, which makes it especially quiet. It is a fast attack boat able to sneak up to shore and drop off Special Boat Service operators for reconnaissance missions for the United Kingdom’s military. The Astute can carry 38 Spearfish heavy torpedoes and several Tomahawk cruise missiles. The sonar system can hear enemy shipping activity at a top range of 3,000 nautical miles.
This has not been the only Royal Navy submarine incident off the coast of Skye. In 2002, the HMS Trafalgar also went aground there. This accident caused millions of dollars of damage.
Damning After-Action Report Casts Blame on Leadership
An official Royal Navy report had this to say about the HMS Astute grounding. “The root causes of the grounding were non adherence to correct procedures for the planning and execution of the navigation combined with a significant lack of appreciation by the Officer of the Watch of the proximity of danger. However, a number of additional causal factors were present, including some deficiencies with equipment.”
One troubling aspect of the grounding was that the radar was not in action. The after-action report said, “The submarine’s primary radar, Radar 1009, was not used after surfacing. During the previous 24 hours it was emitting noise and a command decision was made to limit its use and to preserve it to support dived operations.”
This may have prevented the grounding had the Astute received early warning from the radar. The Officer of the Watch made other mistakes as well that could have alerted the commander to what was happening.
“He did not put a fix on the chart, and he provided no instructions to the petty officer of the watch as to how he intended to maneuver or position the submarine for the transfers. He did not provide any instructions to the petty officer of the watch on how he wished the submarine to be fixed, nor did he provide instructions on the use of the starboard optronics mast for fixing or monitoring of clearing bearings.”
It’s safe to say that the officer of the watch was relieved of his duty after the grounding. The commanders likely received a letter of reprimand in their personnel files and were never promoted again, effectively ending their careers.
The Royal Navy also probably used the two groundings as cautionary tales in submarine training to prevent further incidents. At the time, the Astute was one of Britain’s best attack boats, and this incident was highly embarrassing for the navy. It was a wonder that there was no damage to its nuclear reactors or casualties from the mishap.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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