© Eli J. Medellin/U.S. navyA U.S. coast guard cutter escorts the strategic nuclear missile submarine USS Kentucky through Juan de Fuca Strait in 2003.
A freighter captain's keen eye helped avert a run-in with a nuclear-powered American submarine in Juan de Fuca Strait, a body of water that splits Washington state and B.C. coasts, according to a U.S. periodical.
The incident, which saw the freighter and submarine come within 800 metres of each other, took place in early October but is only coming to light this week, says the
Navy Times, which calls itself "an independent source for news and information for the navy community."
The
Navy Times says that at around 8 a.m. PT on Oct. 12, the USS
Kentucky ballistic-missile submarine had its periscope above water, but was otherwise hidden below the surface when it turned onto a new course that was blocked by a cargo ship.
The submarine's commanding officer, concerned about a trawler, ordered a change of course, but neither he nor the officer of the deck looked through the periscope to check if the course was clear.