BRITISH nuclear submarine HMS Trenchant will berth in Hong Kong this morning to take part in the 50th anniversary celebrations of Liberation Day - the first such vessel to visit the territory in three years.
The Trafalgar class fleet submarine will sail through the Lamma Channel early this morning accompanied by support vessel Diligence of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
However, local fishermen urged the vessel to steer clear of fishing grounds to avoid a repeat of a tragic incident involving HMS Trenchant in November 1990.
The submerged vessel snagged the nets of the wooden trawler Antares, pulling it to the sea bed off Scotland, killing four fishermen on board.
'I just hope they are very careful and that there is no more of the same type of accident in Hong Kong. We do not have time to inform the fishermen,' said To Kwong-biu, chairman of the Cheung Chau Fisherman's Welfare Promotion Association.
'We have no objection as long as they stay away from the fishing grounds.' With a complement of 125, HMS Trenchant is half-way through a seven-month deployment from its base in Devonport to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.
'As a fleet submarine, HMS Trenchant is one of the Navy's modern-day capital ships and is particularly suitable to represent Admiral Harcourt's fleet which liberated Hong Kong,' a Garrison spokesman said.
