HMS Ambush, an Astute-class submarine, was "submerged and conducting a training exercise" when it was involved in what the Ministry of Defence described as a "glancing collision" on Wednesday afternoon.The incident caused the submarine to dock in Gibraltar, which has long been the subject of a sovereignty row between Spain and Britain.
Stickleback class ?
In a statement the Spanish foreign ministry said it had asked the British embassy in Madrid for "urgent explanations over the extent of the breakdown and all relevant information regarding the circumstances of this incident".
The collision caused damage to the front of the conning tower on HMS Ambush, but the Ministry of Defence said that there was "absolutely no damage" to the submarine's nuclear plant.