Russian nuclear submarine risks exploding near UK territory after 'serious accident'

International naval forces have scrambled in response to a 'serious accident' involving a Russian nuclear submarine that was forced to surface near UK territory over the weekend.

More details have emerged regarding the incident in the Strait of Gibraltar, where the 74-metre missile-laden Novorossiysk became an "explosive hazard" after suffering a serious leak in its fuel system. Russian Telegram channels reported a disastrous situation on board as the stealth sub's hull filled with diesel.

Despite the critical nature of the ship's fuel delivery system, military bloggers claimed that no one on board had the training to fix the problem and that there were no spare parts. With the nuclear sub at risk of exploding in one of the world's busiest shipping channels, fears that the crew would start dumping diesel into the Mediterranean were raised.

Even though the Russian Navy refuses to confirm the incident, open source ship-tracking software and witnesses on the ground have seen a concerted effort from various military powers to monitor the floundering submarine, which has moved west towards the Atlantic in the days since it was forced to surface.

A sailor on the submarine told Russian military bloggers: "Novorossiysk, currently on combat duty in the Mediterranean Sea, is experiencing serious technical problems. Due to damage in the fuel system, fuel is leaking directly into the hold."

They added: "The accumulated fuel in the hold is an explosive hazard. The source believes the crew has no choice but to start 'pumping out the hold' directly into the sea."

The large Kilo-class Novorossiysk submarine has an array of six torpedoes, with 12 reloads, and can launch supersonic, nuclear-capable, cruise missiles. It was also seen travelling near Britain earlier this year, with the Royal Navy escorting the submarine out of the English Channel in January as it headed to the North Sea.

Recently, it was sighted operating in the Mediterranean for several weeks, working in tandem with the Russian tug Jakob Grebelsky, according to Olive Press reports. After this critical failure, this same tug has been tracked heading west off Portugal's Algarve, suggesting that the Novorossiysk is also heading to the Atlantic.

With concerns that the submarine could explode, two French warships were seen sailing into the area to tail the stricken sub. A Spanish frigate was also tracked patrolling in the vicinity, with flight radars picking up multiple NATO aircraft taking to the skies over the Strait of Gibraltar in the wake of the incident.

The seas around Gibraltar are among the closest-watched in the world, functioning as the choke point for all Mediterranean shipping traffic, with NATO and the Spanish Navy monitoring all vessels that pass through the strait.

Earlier this month, these same forces tracked a Russian intelligence-gathering ship, the Viktor Leonov, as it passed through the narrow channel between north Africa and southern Europe.

While these military movements are a regular occurrence, they have grown increasingly important for the Kremlin, whose Black Sea fleet has been crippled by Turkey's decision to close the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits in the wake of the Ukraine war.

This effectively denies the fleet access to the Mediterranean and wider international waters, making Russia more reliant on submarines like the Novorossiysk for its international operations.