Submerged German U-Boat Hits Oil Rig
A submerged West German submarine on Sunday ran into a Norwegian offshore oil platform in the North Sea, Norway’s governmental oil directorate said. No injuries were reported.
The submarine struck one of the 12 supporting anchor chains of the Oseberg B platform, about 75 miles off the coast, the directorate told the national news agency, NTB.
The collision shook the platform, but the legs of the platform remained firmly on the seabed 120 yards below. The 320 crewmen were evacuated through a gangway to another platform linked to the Oseberg rig.
The 500-ton submarine surfaced 30 minutes later in relatively calm weather after having cleared itself of the rig’s labyrinth of legs and chains, the officials said.
The West German vessel’s bow and tower were damaged and its navigational equipment was knocked out on impact, NTB reported. The submarine, which bore the markings S-176, is a U-13 class 150-foot vessel, one of 18 built between 1971 and 1974.
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