The Captain Was in the Shower': The Royal Navy's $1.5 Billion Nuclear Attack Submarine HMS Astute Ran Aground Off Skye 2 Months After Commissioning. The Crew Had No Chart, the Radar Off and No Binoculars

The Royal Navy’s HMS Astute (S119) ran aground off the Isle of Skye, Scotland, in October 2010, less than two months after commissioning, according to a report reviewing the incident. The submarine, a nuclear-powered attack vessel built by BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness, was launched in June 2007 and commissioned on August 27, 2010. At 318 feet long, it displaced 7,400 tonnes submerged and was designed to deploy for extended periods thanks to a Rolls-Royce PWR2 reactor. The episode stranded the ship on a shallow bank and reportedly cost the equivalent of $1.5 billion for Britain’s taxpayers. Investigators found multiple navigational mistakes, failures to follow protocols, and poor leadership, and the article notes the ship’s primary radar wasn’t used due to unwanted noise even though it was operational.