Scottish fishing boat 'dragged by Russian submarine'
A Scottishfishing boat got into trouble at the weekend when it came into contact with what is believed to have been a Russian submarine. (photo is a stock shot)
The boat was trawling for haddock, monkfish and skate off the coast of the Outer Hebrides when the incident occurred, The Press and Journal reports. Words: PA.
The 41-year-old, 62-foot wooden trawler had two nets in the water at around 11.30pm when the boat began to quickly slow down.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the boat's skipper, Angus Mcleod, 46, said: "Suddenly a force beneath our boat dragged the nets from behind us to in front of is. It was very powerful because the nets were full of fish and very heavy"
He added: "I have been at sea for 30 years – and between the five of us there is 110 years' experience – and we have never experienced anything like that. The sea conditions were good. We were mystified – we just couldn't explain it."
The crew spent around 15 minutes trying to move the boat in front of the moving nets, but they kept being overtaken by them.
The boat suffered severe damage during the incident and although the skipper never saw the submarine, he claimed the only explanation he has is that it was a submarine.
The Royal Navy have said that there were no submarines, either British or Nato, in the area at the time when the incident occurred, the Scotsman reports.
The boat's skipper has submitted an incident report with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Marine Accident Investigation branch as well.
In January this year, the Ministry of Defence had to have US military assistance in tracking what was thought to be a Russian submarine around the coast of Scotland, the Independent reports.
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