page_title: HMS Astute (S119)
section_title: Aground on Skye
hierarchical_section_title: HMS Astute (S119) / Operational history / Aground on Skye
caption_attribution_description: English: Emergency Tow Vessel (ETV) Anglian Prince preparing to pull grounded submarine HMS Astute into deeper waters Deutsch: Der Schlepper der Britischen Küstenwache Anglian Prince nimmt das vor der Isle of Skye auf Grund gelaufene Atom-U-Boot HMS Astute in Schlepp, um es in tieferes Wasser zu ziehen.
context_page_description: HMS Astute is an operational nuclear-powered attacksubmarine in the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class.
  Astute is the second submarine of the Royal Navy to be named after the characteristic of shrewdness and discernment—the first was the World War II-era Amphion-class Astute. She was the largest attack submarine in Royal Navy history when commissioned in 2010.
context_section_description: On 22 October 2010, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that Astute had "run into difficulties" off the Isle of Skye while on trials, after eyewitnesses reported that she had run aground a few miles from the Skye Bridge. There were no reports of injuries. The captain of the vessel elected to wait for tugboat assistance rather than using the submarine's own power to clear the stern from the obstruction, to minimise damage to the hull's anechoic tiles. A Royal Navy spokesman said that the vessel had been grounded on silt and was re-floated at high tide. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency-chartered emergency tow vessel Anglian Prince was dispatched to the scene from Stornoway.
  The submarine returned under her own power to Faslane, where the damage was described as minor. A service inquiry concluded that the main cause of the grounding was not following navigation procedures combined with the watch officer not appreciating the proximity of danger. On 27 October 2010, the Royal Navy announced that Commander Andy Coles had been relieved of his command of Astute. Commander Iain Breckenridge previously commanded the submarine HMS Tireless, and the Navy announced in December 2010 that he would take command. Astute had to return to port for repairs on 11 December 2010, on her first day back at sea after the grounding incident, due to a problem with her steam plant.
caption: Astute aground with the emergency tow vessel Anglian Prince
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