Royal Navy warship HMS Northumberland collides with Russian submarine in North Atlantic and has sonar damaged

HMS Northumberland was searching for submarine after it disappeared from the ship’s view in the Arctic circle.

The submarine hit and damaged the warship’s sonar, and HMS Northumberland was forced to port in Scotland for repairs.

A sonar is a piece of equipment with sensitive hydrophones for listening under water.

It was being towed hundreds of metres behind the ship before being damaged by the submarine.

The incident happened in late 2020 and was captured by a documentary crew from Channel 5.

They were filming a television series called Warship: Life At Sea.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the collision between the Royal Navy ship and submarine took place.

A source from the UK defence force told the BBC it was not a deliberate act.

SEE ALSO: Royal Navy teams celebrated in New Year's Honours for their efforts during Covid pandemic

Comments from the Ministry of Defence about operations are rare, but they were forced to do so because the incident was caught on camera.

An MoD spokesman said: ‘In late 2020, a Russian submarine being tracked by HMS Northumberland came into contact with her towed array sonar.

‘The Royal Navy regularly tracks foreign ships and submarines in order to ensure the defence of the United Kingdom.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Subscribe here for unlimited access to all our coverage, including Pompey, for just 26p a day.