Curious "catch"

Fishermen accidentally catch a nuclear submarine in the net

This "catch" has it all: the USS "Virginia" weighs 7800 tons and is 115 meters long (symbolic image).

(Bild: AP)

Norwegian fishermen were actually bringing their catch ashore when a US Navy nuclear submarine was caught in the net. Fortunately, no one was injured during the operation, but the fishermen still suffered damage. 

The Øygutt and its captain Harald Engen were on their way home to deliver the halibut catch when he received the news that the attack submarine had taken the fishing nets with it, which he had just set up again.

"We had just emptied our nets and put them back up and were on our way to Sommarøya when we got a call from the coastguard," he told NRK.

"It's gone, we'll probably never find it again"
The small fishing boat had actually had a very good day until then. The crew of three had already pulled over 200 kilograms of halibut and some plaice on board the approximately ten-metre-long vessel. The fishing grounds there are known for their many halibut in the fall.

But then the bad news for the men: "A submarine got into our halibut net and took all of it with it," Engen continues. The damage now amounts to around 4000 euros. "It's gone and we'll probably never find it again."

US Navy confirms incident
The US Navy also confirmed the incident; the net had wrapped itself around the propeller of the USS "Virginia". A Norwegian Coast Guard vessel escorting the submarine eventually helped to remove the entanglement. 

Not a harmless incident
"It just happens that ships get tangled up in nets and they get caught in the propellers," said a coastguard spokesperson. While the incident this time ended up being harmless, it can also end tragically. In 1990, for example, the trawler "Antares" was dragged into the depths when a submarine took the net with it. All four men on board died.