RN fires on Spanish patrol boat re USN SSN

[chopper2004]

Royal Navy fires warning shots as Spanish vessel harasses US sub in Gibraltar

Spanish patrol boat not aware of approaching sub into Gib / miscommunication or wanting to exercise the Gib right?

Going to make things interesting for the upcoming NATO Tiger Meet at Zaragoza in a fortnight...

Cheers

[BossEyed]

"Warning shots" = flares, according to the link.

[camelspyyder]

Maybe Tutor students would take more notice if the Caravan was allowed to fire warning shots instead of flares...

[Davef68]

One wonders if the Spanish realised it was a US sub.....

[Union Jack]

Exactamente.....

Jack

[Geordie_Expat]

Could this have been an "Oh s..t" moment for the Spaniards when they realised.

[KenV]

One wonders if the Spanish realised it was a US sub.....

Kinda hard to miss that US flag flying from the mast whenever she's surfaced. Or maybe it was precisely that flag that motivated their actions.

[NutLoose]

Spain claims sovereignty over the strategic outpost, which stands on the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula, but has been a British Overseas Territory since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

Strange they always distance themselves from the Moroccan claims

Ceuta, Melilla profile - BBC News

[PersonFromPorlock]

Strange they always distance themselves from the Moroccan claims

Brings up an interesting point; since it was a US boat, will Obama apologize to Spain or Morocco?

[Captivep]

I was in Gib on the day this happened - I didn't hear or see anything particularly noisy (not that that proves anything - I was in a pub most of the time).


But I did see the sub enter the port; it was (according to local news reports) USS Florida, an SSGN. It (she?) didn't stay very long...