British navy's nuclear submarine faces malfunction, crew worried over sinking

A Royal Navy nuclear submarine encountered a perilous situation as a result of a malfunction in its depth gauge, plunging to potentially hazardous depths while carrying a Trident ballistic missile and 140 crew members.

The submarine, part of the decades-old Vanguard class, found itself in distress in the Atlantic Ocean while preparing for patrol duty when its depth indicators ceased functioning. The vessel's name and the exact depth it reached have been withheld for security reasons, reported The Sun.

The alarming descent was averted when engineers at the rear of the submarine observed the actual depth using a secondary functional gauge and raised an alert, despite it not being their primary responsibility to manage the vessel's depth.

"A depth where we know it can operate" was emphasised by a source quoted by The Sun, underlining that although the submarine remained within its operational depth capabilities, the crew did not receive the customary signal to action stations, signalling that the dive was unauthorised and potentially perilous if continued.

The malfunction misled commanders into believing the submarine maintained a steady level when, in reality, it continued its descent.

The Royal Navy, refraining from commenting on operational specifics, confirmed its submarines' global deployment while safeguarding national interests.

A nuclear-armed submarine has been on patrol since 1969. Four Vanguard-class submarines take turns fulfilling this role on a rotational basis.

Efforts to modernise the fleet involve the construction of Dreadnought class submarines, scheduled to replace the current Vanguard class by the 2030s, marking a significant advancement in the UK Navy's maritime defence capabilities.