WORK is set to begin on a Barrow-built submarine after being involved in a collision with a shipping tanker.
The Royal Navy faces a hefty repair bill after HMS Ambush collided with the tanker off the coast of Gibraltar at around 1.30pm local time last Wednesday.
The submarine's bridge fin struck a shipping tanker while it was surfacing during a training exercise, in an incident which has been described by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as a "glancing collision". Pictures show extensive damage to the fin, where some of the submarine's Thales sonar equipment is housed.
The Port of Gibraltar authority's chief executive, Bob Sanguinetti, has published a notice to inform users of the port that the Ministry of Defence is set to conduct a movement of hazardous materials between 8am and 5pm on Wednesday. An exclusion zone of 200 metres will be in place and the southern entrance to the port will be closed to civilian vessels.
It is understood the notice refers either to the movement of the boat or the removal of weapons from the submarine.
A team from the shipyard in Barrow is understood to be on standby to fly out to assist with the repair work, although employees from BAE's Govan site in Glasgow may also be involved.
READ MORE: Human error set to be the cause of Ambush's collision with shipping tanker
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