What You Need to Know: Norwegian fishermen recently snagged an unusual "catch of the day": the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered submarine, USS Virginia. While halibut fishing, the Øygutt’s fishing net became entangled with the submarine’s propeller, dragging it over two nautical miles before finally detaching.
-This unique incident isn’t the first of its kind. A tragic 1999 event saw a British submarine accidentally snag a fishing vessel, leading to the vessel’s sinking and the loss of four crew members.
-These close calls underscore the dangers of crowded seas and the potential for deadly submarine-fishing vessel interactions.
Many an angler has told of the big one that "got away," but a group of Norwegian fishermen has a "whale of a tale" to tell to top all others. And a very big one did get away because it was nuclear-powered and filled with U.S. Navy sailors.
On Wednesday the fishermen were sailing for halibut near where the Barents and Norwegian Seas meet, but instead netted the U.S. Navy's cruise missile attack submarine USS Virginia (SSN-774).
"We had just emptied the nets and put them out again, and [were] on our way back to shore at Sommarøya when we........