By Victoria Ward / 5:53PM BST 23 Apr 2012
The £1.2 billion HMS Astute had to be towed free when she became stranded ahead of a routine crew transfer in 2010, much to the embarrassment of Royal Navy chiefs.
She was the world's most advanced submarine with stealth technology and such powerful sonar that she could pinpoint a cruise liner 3,000 miles away.
Astute was so new she was still on sea trials when she was marooned on top of a sand bank. Cdr Andy Coles, 48, lost his command of the vessel as a result.
A service inquiry into the incident highlighted a variety of causes, stating that correct procedures had not been followed.
It also criticised the Officer of the Watch (OOW) for a “significant lack of appreciation” of the proximity of danger.
The 330ft-long sub was eventually rescued at high tide by an emergency tug and was towed to deeper waters for checks on the rudder. A collision between the two vessels left Astute with a damaged starboard foreplane.
The incident was believed to have cost around £2.3 million.
The report found that there had been no “dedicated plan or special briefing" for the boat transfer, which had been due to take place at 6.30am on October 22.
By 6.10am a number of "significant items" including the hand-held VHF radio and the bridge chart were still not on the submarine's bridge and the secondary radar was not working.
The absence of the VHF radio meant that those on the submarine's bridge could not communicate with transfer vessel MV Omagh.
The internal communications system also failed, leading to a two minute delay in passing an order.
The OOW was asked to reduce speed and alter course but failed to do so, citing the position of MV Omagh. However, he did not consider his option of turning starboard, the report said.
His lack of awareness and experience and his incomplete preparations before proceeding to the bridge were “the major causal factor” in the grounding.
"He, as OOW, was responsible for the safe navigation of the submarine,” the report team said.
"The root causes of the grounding were non-adherence to correct procedures for the planning and execution of the navigation combined with a significant lack of appreciation by the Officer of the Watch (OOW) of the proximity of danger,” the report said.
"However, a number of additional causal factors were present, including some deficiencies with equipment."
Rear Admiral Ian Corder, head of the Submarine Service, said that the organisation had learnt from the incident and fully accepted the report’s 10 recommendations.
Astute was launched by the Duchess of Cornwall in June 2007, almost four years behind schedule.
The 7,200 tonne vessel was welcomed into the Royal Navy during a commissioning ceremony at Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde last August. Built by defence giant BAE Systems at Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, she is the first in a fleet of six which will replace the Trafalgar class submarine.
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