British Sub, Fishing Boat Collide Off Florida Coast

The nuclear-powered British ballistic missile submarine Resolution and a commercial fishing boat collided in the dark off the Florida coast, injuring four people aboard the civilian boat, the Coast Guard and Royal Navy reported today.

The accident, at 9:25 p.m. Sunday, happened as the Resolution was preparing to submerge to launch a Polaris missile as a training exercise for its crew. The firing was delayed several hours, until early today.

The collision between the 425-foot submarine and the 57-foot vessel Proud Mary, out of Fort Pierce, occurred about 13 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral as the sub was moving toward the missile-firing area 30 miles offshore.

A Royal Navy statement said the Proud Mary hit the Resolution at a right angle on the port side and bounced down the hull, hitting the rudder.

It said the sub was traveling about 15 m.p.h. and was displaying normal, internationally specified navigation lights, including two at the top of its communications mast, 80 feet above the surface.

The Coast Guard reported a woman crew member on the Proud Mary suffered a broken kneecap, while the other three on board were treated for cuts and bruises.

None of the 147 members of the Resolution’s crew was hurt and the sub received only slight damage. The Coast Guard, which towed the Proud Mary to Port Canaveral, said the collision left a 15-by-6-foot gash above the fishing vessel’s waterline.

The Royal Navy said the Resolution and a support ship, the Emory S. Land, stopped immediately to aid the Proud Mary and its crew. A Coast Guard vessel from Port Canaveral hurried to the scene and provided medical aid and a portable pump for the damaged vessel.