Several Norwegian fishermen got the shock of their lives when they made a routine fishing expedition. They ended up capturing the largest haul of their lives — a U.S. nuclear submarine.
This isn't the sort of espionage story that would grace the covers of James Bond. At any one time, there are at least 72 U.S. nuclear submarines across the world. Generally, they do a better job of hiding from plain sight than this. The Øygutt, or 'Island Boy' was fishing along the Arctic Circle when it made the shocking discovery.
It was having a good morning up to that point. The fishermen were pulling in hundreds of pounds of fish. However, when they deployed the nets for a second time, the trawling equipment got torn clean off the ship. That's because they got caught up with the USS Virginia. The submarine weighs 7,800 tons and is a massive underwater craft.
The sub was drifting through the waters northeast of Sommarøy when the fishermen inadvertently caught it in their nets. Harald Engen, one of a three-member crew aboard Øygutt, told Norway's NRK that the fishermen was shocked by the discovery.
Fishermen Capture Submarine
"A submarine had gotten into our halibut nets and had towed them two nautical miles northward into the open sea," Engen says. While they will certainly have a story for a round of beers, the submarine ended up damaging their ship. They lost their nets in the process, which is quite a lot of money. "The (net) is at the bottom of the sea. It is gone, and we will probably never find it again."
Generally, nuclear submarines don't get close to the surface. It makes the whole situation bizarre.
"I know about other vessels that have sailed over fishing nets, but no one out here has ever heard about a submarine doing so," Engen said.
The incident required the help of the Norwegian Coast Guard. They ended up cutting the submarine free from the ship's nets.
Fortunately, the Norwegian Coast Guard was able to deploy aboard the ship Heimdal and cut the yarn free of the submarine's propeller. Following the incident, the U.S. Navy released a statement thanking Norway for freeing the submarine.
"We appreciate Norway's continued support for US submarine deployments, which are essential to deterring and defending against an increasingly complex security environment," a Navy spokesperson commented.
