Back in April [4], European and US officials were quick to blame "The Russians" when a British fishing trawler's nets became entangled in a submarine. The incident, one of many, was rapidly escalated as further excuse to increase NATO forces across Europe and as evidence of Russia's aggression. There's just one small problem... As The Daily Mail reports, [5]in this case, it wasn't the Russians - The Royal Navy has finally admitted one of its submarines damaged an Irish fishing trawler in April - five months after the Russian vessel was blamed for the incident.
From another incident in April blamed on The Russians [4], a bit more color from Live Leak [6]:
Angus Macleod, who has fished Scottish waters for more than 30 years, told how crewmembers became alarmed when their nets began to “overtake” his 62-foot trawler, Aquarius.
Speaking to the Sunday Express last night, he said: “We were midway through a trip when the boat started to slow down by around two-thirds of a knot, which can happen when the pots start to collect.
“We started to haul the nets in, and suddenly there was an external force pulling our nets ahead of the boat with some considerable force. This is something we’ve never experienced before. We always have to be ahead of the nets to keep our propeller clear.
"We caught up with them, and we continued hauling, but the nets ran forward again. The starboard net continued to lead out aft. We had to do this several times, and the winches which were hauling in the nets were beginning to strain.”
Mr. Macleod, 46, added: “At the time we just went through what needed to be done to get out of that situation. We had to keep our propeller clear – that’s our main propulsion. But afterwards we sat down as a crew and we discussed what we’d seen. There is little doubt in our minds that this was caused by a submarine.”
But now, as The Daily Mail reports, [5]another incident from April that was blamed on The Russians has now been admitted the fault of The Royal Navy...
The Royal Navy has finally admitted one of its submarines damaged an Irish fishing trawler in April - five months after a Russian vessel was blamed for the incident.
The Karen was towed at 10 knots during the April 15 incident 18 miles from Ardglass on the south-east shore of Northern Ireland and the vessel was left badly damaged, but the crew escaped unharmed.
Nato exercises were held that week in northern Scotland leading to speculation that the alliance's drills may have attracted Russian interest.
...
The 60-foot boat's captain Paul Murphy was pictured holding a snapped steel cable on board his boat following the alarming incident.
At the time the Navy said none of its submarines were in the Irish Sea and Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt told Parliament a UK vessel was not responsible.
Now Ms Mordaunt has been forced to make a U-turn and revealed it was in fact a British submarine which snagged the boat.
Once again officials simply lied!
While we doubt any apologies for apportioning blame to the Russians wil be forthcoming, The Daily Mail does note [5] some local politicians demanding justice...
South Down MP Margaret Ritchie said: 'Fishermen must be confident that their vessels will not be damaged by submarine activity and where incidents do take place, the Government will own up to it immediately.
Sinn Fein Stormont Assembly member Chris Hazzard said fishermen deserved to be able to work in an environment where they did not have to worry about submarines sinking their boats as fishing was already a dangerous occupation.
'The British Government and MoD must now explain their actions, if any disciplinary measures will be taken arising out of this incident and how it will avoid similar incidents in the future.'
