NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has taken a swipe at Russia’s naval capabilities, joking that one of its submarines appeared to be “limping home” after reports suggested it was forced to surface in the English Channel due to mechanical problems.
The incident involved the Novorossiysk, a diesel-powered Kilo-class submarine from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which surfaced off the coast of France earlier this month. The Russian navy, however, denied any technical malfunction, insisting the vessel surfaced in accordance with international navigation regulations requiring submarines to travel on the surface while transiting the English Channel.
In a speech delivered in Slovenia on Monday, Rutte quipped:
“What a change from the 1984 Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October. Today, it seems more like the hunt for the nearest mechanic.”
Rutte further claimed that Russia now has “hardly any naval presence left in the Mediterranean,” highlighting the broader decline of Moscow’s maritime power amid ongoing Western sanctions and resource strains caused by the war in Ukraine.
The UK’s Royal Navy confirmed it shadowed the surfaced submarine and its support tug between October 7 and 9 as they passed through the Channel. HMS Iron Duke and a Royal Navy helicopter were involved in tracking the vessels before they entered the North Sea, where the Dutch navy took over the escort duties.
Dutch authorities initially reported that the submarine was under tow in the North Sea, fueling speculation of a mechanical failure. Meanwhile, Russian security leaks channel VChK-OGPU claimed on September 27 that the Novorossiysk had suffered a fuel leak near the Strait of Gibraltar, raising explosion concerns.
Moscow has dismissed these reports as misinformation. The Black Sea Fleet emphasized the transit was “scheduled and routine,” while the UK’s Armed Forces Minister Al Carns said the operation demonstrated “how the UK stands firm with NATO allies to push back against Russian aggression.”
