LONDON (AP) — A Royal Navy warship collided with rocks off the eastern coast of Australia on Sunday and was holed below the waterline, officials said, but there were no reports of casualties among the 253 crew.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the HMS Nottingham hit rocks near Lord Howe Island, 200 miles northeast of Sydney.
A defense spokesman said it was not clear how much damage the British destroyer had sustained, but said the vessel was now off the rocks.
“She is now considered to be stable and they are assessing the level of damage,” the spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity.
David Gray of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said that the ship was taking on water and had requested heavy pumping gear to be flown out.
Royal Navy divers were also being sent to the scene so that they could assess the scale of the damage below the waterline.
“We were advised by the harbormaster at Lord Howe Island that HMS Nottingham had hit rocks, was taking water and was having steerage problems,” Gray told Sky News.
“There was an urgent request for heavy duty pumping equipment. It was rather a panic situation when the broadcast first came out because they weren’t too sure how much water they were taking but they have moved to a position now and anchored just off the airdrome on the island,” he added.
Cmdr. David Heley of the Ministry of Defense said the vessel was on a routine trip from Cairns, in Australia’s northeastern state of Queensland, to Wellington in New Zealand when it visited Lord Howe Island to make a minor medical transfer.
Heley said there was a “substantial collision” and the ship immediately dropped anchor.
He said the destroyer’s commanding officer Richard Farrington had been in charge of the ship for between 18 months and two years.
“He’s a cool, phlegmatic individual. Obviously, this will be a major challenge but I have every reason to suspect he’ll handle this incident with great professionalism,” Heley added.
The vessel left Britain in March and was due back in November or December, he said.
