British, French nuclear subs collide; no radiation leaks, reports say

Officials said the low-speed crash did not damage the vessels' nuclear reactors or missiles, or cause radiation to leak. But anti-nuclear groups said it was still a frightening reminder of the risks posed by submarines prowling the oceans powered by radioactive material and bristling with nuclear weapons.

The first public indication of an accident came when France reported in a little-noticed Feb. 6 statement that one of its submarines had struck a submerged object — perhaps a shipping container. But confirmation of the accident came only after British media reported it.

France's defense ministry said Monday that the sub Le Triomphant and the HMS Vanguard, the oldest vessel in Britain's nuclear-armed submarine fleet, were on routine patrol when they collided in the Atlantic this month. It did not say exactly when, where or how the accident occurred.

France said that Le Triomphant suffered damage to a sonar dome — where navigation and detection equipment is stored — and limped home to its base on L'Ile Longue, on France's western tip. The HMS Vanguard returned to a submarine base in Scotland with visible dents and scrapes, the BBC reported.

The HMS Vanguard came into service in 1993, has a crew of around 140 and typically carries 16 Lockheed Trident D5 missiles. Under government policy, British nuclear submarines carry a maximum of 48 warheads.

France's Le Triomphant carries 111 crew members and 15 nuclear missiles, according to Jane's, a defense analysis group.

"This is the most severe incident involving a nuclear submarine since the sinking of the Kursk in 2000 and the first time since the Cold War that two nuclear-armed subs are known to have collided," said Kate Hudson, head of Britain's Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.