A nuclear submarine was plunged into chaos after a Royal Navy Sailor allegedly called in a hoax bomb warning. A full emergency response was triggered on HMS Vanguard following the prank, as a bomb squad reportedly attended the scene. The officer’s pretend threat is said to have caused a lockdown at HMNB Clyde – the navy’s headquarters in Scotland where nuclear submarines are stored.
The bomb warning was sent into a 16,000 tonne Trident submarine’s main control room, where the person who received the call believed the threat was credible. The officer behind the alleged prank was reportedly arrested over the hoax and is now under investigation by the Defence Serious Crime Command.
“The suspect was working in the rear of the boat, in the engineering control room, and allegedly called up front to the main control room and claimed there was a bomb on board,” an anonymous source told The Sun.
“It’s not clear if he lost the plot or if it was a stupid prank that went horribly wrong. The person who took the call believed it was credible and triggered a full emergency response.”
The source added: “They did a quick draw and the base piped orders to the Royal Marines to guard the jetty and the submarine hatches to make sure no one could come on or off.”
A Royal Navy spokesman said: “We can confirm that a member of the Royal Navy is under investigation by the Defence Serious Crime Command for a bomb hoax.”
The submarine rejoined the UK’s deterrent fleet in 2024 following seven years in Plymouth, Devon for a refit. The 150-metre-vessel’s role is to carry the Trident ballistic missile system, tasked with patrolling the world’s ocean at extreme depths.
However, last January, the £4billion vessel carried out Britain’s first nuclear missile test in eight years, yet it misfired and crashed into the sea.
The Ministry of Defence labelled the incident as an “anomaly”, yet questions were raised over the nation’s nuclear deterrent capabilities.