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Updated 2pm
MYSTERY STILL SURROUNDS an incident off Down yesterday where a trawler was seemingly dragged backwards by a submarine.
The crew of the Karen narrowly avoided disaster as the boat could have been pulled underwater as the submarine caught on its fishing nets.
The vessel is believed to be heavily damaged following the incident, which took place yesterday at around 4pm.
At the height of the Cold War it was a relatively common occurrence, prompting the Royal Navy to put protocols in place for submarines to avoid collisions. If a submarine is involved in a collision, they are meant to surface and ensure the ship and crew are safe.
This near-miss coincided with the launch of a massive Nato exercise in Scotland.
Speaking to Down News, skipper Paul Murphy said the Karen was pulled back at ten knots, its top speed, and he was almost knocked off his feet.
“The crew were just in shock after this incident. It really was a close call,” he said, “The incident only lasted about just over five seconds but it was very scary.”
The submarine did not come up to the surface after we tangled with it. We have now lost thousands of pounds of fishing gear because of this. It really should not have happened.
“It was fortunate that one of the steel ropes holding the net snapped or we would have been pulled under very quickly.”
Murphy spoke later to The Anton Savage Show on Today FM and said the incident caught all crew by surprise:
“It was totally out of the blue. It was a beautiful day, flat calm, and just all of a sudden, that was it.”
He said one rope broke free, the boat was left spinning in circles, something extremely unusual for an 80 ft vessel.
“We’re lucky that we were on a fairly big, robust boat. Anything smaller would have been pulled straight under. We had very little time to react.”
“I actually had to sit down for ten minutes afterwards. My hands were shaking so much I couldn’t lift the radio to call the coastguard,” Murphy told the programme.
Dick James from the Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation told TheJournal.ie that naval officials have yet to confirm if any submarines were in the area.
He said a similar incident took place last month with another vessel.
“My concern is that protocols aren’t being followed,” James said, “because the Cold War is hotting up, and it might have been a Russian submarine.”
This was echoed by Murphy, who noted that it didn’t adhere by the usual procedure of surfacing after the crash.
James added that it’s hard to see how anything other than a submarine could have caused yesterday’s incident, due to speed involved, noting that the ship’s sudden jolt is visible on tracking systems.
A spokesperson for the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence told this website that it does not comment on submarine activity.
Originally published 10.02am
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Godzilla?
Maybe it was Chtulhu
it was those bloody eskimos coming and provoking us again
Let them fight!
Who? Chtulhu against Godzilla?
No, Putin and Chtulhu.
That’d be fight I’d pay to see
Bet it twas stingray
Front page of tomorrow’s Sun
!!!!!!PUTINS SUB!!!!!!
Trident strikes again. Just shows you the attitude of the Ministry of Defence. Would rather keep going than surface and risk killing innocent fishermen
Sounds more like a Russian. They announced a couple of days back that they were carrying out anti submarine warfare exercises in the area.
Unfortunately Mr Putin has decided he wants to drag the world back to another cold war. So if it was British you can hardly blame them as they have to protect Irish waters as well as their own as we don’t have the resources. And if it was, then I’d be very surprised if there hadn’t already been contact made with the Irish Govt. Thankfully there were no injuries or fatalities so hopefully the Capt and crew are compensated for damage done and loss of earnings. If it was Russian then we’re not likely to hear anything more about it.
Exactly, the Russians announced their presence in those waters so they would be unlikely to have anything to hide and would surely be unwilling to be responsible for the deaths of UK civilians as a result of their military exercises. I think it much more likely that the Royal Navy would be in the area without announcement in order to keep tacks on the Russian activity. Hence the refusal to surface and be caught. Plausible deniability
Ronan, it’s the west that are dragging the world into war and chaos, take a look at Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen right now, all the death and destruction caused and supported by the evil West.
Anyone who wants to know what President Putin thinks head over to RT right now for his annual 3 hour questions and answers he does every year live on TV. Can anyone imagine any of our spineless western stooges doing the same for the people who voted them?
You lost me after you said RT. Imagine any of the Western leaders having 40 billion in wealth .
Putin is an unelected tyrannical dictator nothing changes that absolute FACT. The other western tossers might be corrupt but not a patch on this guy.
Do you know how many journalists have disappeared or have been found dead in Russia , there is an entire Wiki page on it.
Roman , who’s going to compensate them ?
Do you know how many Party of Regions deputies have been ‘fpund’ dead in Ukraine over previous months? That one was shot dead this week?And that a pro Russian journalist was just shot dead in Kiev? But sorry to be getting in the way of your one sided narrative there.
“A suspected submarine spotted in the Stockholm archipelago a week after Sweden’s extensive hunt for Russian underwater vessels last autumn was only a civilian boat, Sweden’s Armed Forces have now said.”
http://www.thelocal.se/20150413/suspected-sub-in-swedish-waters-was-working-boat
So you approve of that wonderful shirtless homophobe Putin ? No one of note in Russia will challenge his blatant persecution of LGBT people for fear of being arrested and imprisoned. You must be terribly naïve to believe that any questions put to Putin aren’t screened in advance.
Examine the civil rights of Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen and compare them to western civilisation, is this the type of society you wish for ?
I’m not interested in what this wife beating dictator has to say about anything and I doubt very much any decent thinking human would be either.
“The Evil West”. So sayth Putin’s mouthpiece on the Journal.
Pearse, at least Russia doesn’t hang them or stone them to death or throw them of buildings like some western sponsored organisations and countries like that bastion of peace and democracy and the Wests best friend Saudi Arabia.
There were more rights in all the above countries until western interference, please educate yourself on the standard of living the Libyan’s and Iraqi’s had prior to invasion by the west to deliver a better life.
If there was a worldwide poll to see who is the most popular leader in the world I would bet £1000 President Putin would win by a huge majority
Now you sound like a kid losing an argument.
Could be the Chinese, they’ve the biggest maritime fleet in the world.
https://youtu.be/C66mAkS1ZfM Putin is a law unto himself.
Why presume that it was a British sub, it could just as well be American or Russian..
or Swiss, Andorran or Mongolian….. ;)
Probably Vatican.
Who knows maybe the Irish Navy have been shopping or have one on demo for few days
I’m surprised Gerry Adams hasn’t got the blame though I’d say big Denis is working on that story for his front page tomorrow – “Provos developing new underwater missile system nearly sink trawler”. Nothing would surprise me at this stage
No way was it Russian bearing in mind the location of the incident. It would have been detected by British sonar buoys on the sea bottom
As if being a fisherman wasn’t difficult and dangerous enough already.
Sub drivers can tell what kind of craft is on the surface, by prop noise and size, so they must have known there were nets ahead, – how stupid can you get…??
Perhaps the Captain was hungry and fancied a Sub?
Some things just sound funnier in your head.
Colombian Narco-submarine just dropping off some drugs.
Hahaha
Sure we’re grand, haven’t we got the LE Eithne?
To be fair the LE Eithne has a rather tasty looking cannon on it, wouldn’t want to be on the working end of it.
“because the Cold War is hotting up, and it might have been a Russian submarine.”
hit send before I finish… is he for real? ha ha
Where the hell have you been for the last 12 mths?
Where have you been the past 25 years ‘Doc’ the Cold War ended in officially in 1989 or you could argue 1991 with the end of the USSR at the latest. Fair enough there is a little disquiet between Russia and Europe etc. at the moment but the Cold War it is not.
I was also referring the way he said the ‘Cold’ War is ‘Hotting’ up. Which is a funny unintentional (and grammatically incorrect) play on words in its own right.
Happened before in the 80′s and 90′s resulting in the deaths of fishermen
That was British and U.S. SUBMARINES THEN AND NOW…
Nato countries hold military exercises all of the time to test their ability to work together as a force. It is only when incidents like this happen that the media picks up on a story.
It was a British Sub on NATO drills with U.S. subs in the area, so how can it then be a Russian sub then???
If the hen had kittens someone would try and blame Russia for that as well?
You have the proof?
It was on the news it was a NATO MILITARY DRILL with subs, so why would anyone blame Russia in the same area as a mass NATO drill, it is all over the media about it… Too many these days just believe any speal and propaganda from U.S. funded media giants…
If it was the Russians; it is a serious violation of our sovereignty, lives at risk, should join NATO, so on and so forth.
If it was the British; they are our nearest neighbours and there is a perfectly acceptable explanation. Probably selflessly defending us against Russians.
WHAT EVIDENCE HAS HE OR YOU TO SAY IT WAS RUSSIA when NATO were having submarine drills in the same area, that means that it is likely to be U.S. or British subs and with NATO drills in the area then no way could it be Russian?
Did you see the if at the start of the statement?
You are getting confused Michael, It is only Communist countries that drill their millitary. Nato countries prefer to call them ‘exercises’.
“Selflessly” defending us?? What planet are you on. They occupied, slaughtered and planted their ways upon us for 800 years and you think they are caring for our interests. Get real you love their principle so much kindly take a sub and feck off over to Engerland
I think he is being sarcastic, read his comment again.
100% Kieran.
I was being sarcastic Paul. Sorry if it came across differently.
It is the same process whatever name is on it?
Coveney is going to be really mad now. Russia / Nato are going to get a serious finger wagging pretty soon!
We really are being dragged under. Put protocols in place and ensure they are adhered to
It was the Loch Ness monster out on a beano
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