Spanish press speculates on Gib port’s ‘suspicious submarine’

‘STORM in a tea cup,’ seemed to be the message coming from the government and the MOD after last week’s visit to Gibraltar by HMS Ambush.
The cautionary actions of the Captain of the Port were apparently jumped upon by the Spanish local press seeing an opportunity for a ‘nuclear reactor danger’ story, as the port issued a statement to mariners informing them of a 200-metre exclusion zone around the submarine while “hazardous material” was handled.
The Environmental Safety Group, echoing that some members of the public were concerned by the speculative reports in the Spanish media, started asking questions. The ESG said it would like to know what exactly these dangerous materials were, pointing to reports in the Spanish press that radioactive materials could be involved.
The story from Spanish Diariosur said: “The spokesman of Verdemar-Ecologistas en Accion in the Campo de Gibraltar, Antonio Muñoz, yesterday criticised the ‘total lack of information on what type of hazardous materials’ were being moved, and that it required ‘control’ by the Spanish authorities because of the ‘enormous risks’ that this operation entailed for the population in the area.”
Referring to submarines as “authentic floating bombs,” Muñoz continued, saying he had called the Nuclear Safety Council to investigate the area with Geiger counters, and that he had alerted other authorities including the government of Spain and the Junta de Andalucía regional government.
The Gibraltar government said, “There is nothing of concern about the presence or activity of nuclear submarine HMS Ambush in Gibraltar and the Spanish press is wrong on this subject as it usually is about matters related to Gibraltar,” adding that the UK does not need to seek anyone’s permission to bring Royal Navy vessels into the British parts of the Bay of Gibraltar.
The MOD said it, “does not comment on submarine activity.”