Fishermen hunting for halibut accidentally catch US nuclear submarine instead after 7,800ton USS Virginia snagged in net

A GROUP of avid fishermen were left in shock after they managed to catch a 7,800 ton US navy nuclear-powered submarine.

The Norwegian fishing crew were hunting for halibut before they accidentally snagged the mammoth USS Virginia inside their net.

The heavyweight sub quickly dragged the net and everything inside out to sea after it got caught up in the fishing trap.

One of the young men onboard the 32ft boat in northern Norway said they only discovered their net had been compromised after receiving a call from the coast guard.

Captain Harald Engen, 22, told local broadcaster NRK: “We had just emptied the nets and put them out again and were on our way back to harbour when we received a radio call from the coast guard."

He was told that the US Navy submarine had managed to get wrapped up inside the nets near Troms before being dragged two nautical miles out to sea.

The Norwegian coast guard discovered the tangled up sub after an escort vessel came to the rescue.

They said the fishing net had managed to be completely sucked into the submarine’s propellers and had to be cut out.

Engen added: “I have heard of other boats getting caught nets but no one out here has ever heard that a submarine has done that."

He also said the one-of-a-kind blunder lost him around 40,000 Norwegian Krone (£2,800) as he had to get new nets.

Engen earned roughly half of that amount on the day of the mishap in halibut.

The US embassy in Oslo later confirmed on Monday that the USS Virginia had been sailing in the waters at the time of the accident.

It is a 377ft nuclear-powered attack submarine used in the American Navy.

US nuclear subs have been in Norwegian waters since 2021 after an agreement said the navy could use a civilian port outside Troms as a swap over point for crew and supplies.

Fears are also continuing to grow over how Russia's Vladimir Putin may use the Norwegian Sea to create further chaos in Europe.

A new fleet of Russian nuclear-powered submarines have been in construction since 2021 which make up Russia’s Northern Fleet.

Those already in service are stationed in the Murmansk province near to the Norwegian border.

Norway - a founding member of Nato - are believed to be on of the countries most at risk if Putin defeats Ukraine.

Tensions between Nato and Russia are at boiling point over the despot's illegal invasion with many fearing he may continue to cause continental carnage if he wins the long drawn battle.

It comes as a Russian ship carrying 20,000 tonnes of highly explosive cargo was spotted off the UK coast just days after it was refused entry into Troms.

The vessel, known as the Ruby, was seen floating off Margate, on the Kent coast and is now just a few miles from the Thames Estuary.

The Ruby originally set sail from Kandalaksha, on the Kola peninsula in Russia but it was believed to have picked up damage on the way.

These issues caused it to stop in Troms, Norway, on September 3, whilst seeking safety from a storm.

Its propeller, hull, and rudder had been damaged, but following several days authorities insisted the ship leave as fears grew among locals. 

Tromso authorities moved the ship on from its mooring near a major hospital and university, over fears its explosive cargo posed a risk to the city.

After travelling to northern Norway, the vessel was briefly moored near to the Andoya NATO air base, according to global ship tracking website Marine Traffic.