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taken by submarine commanders if they suspect that a collision may
have occurred. These make clear that the safety of the fishing vessel's crew is of paramount importance and overrides all other
considerations.
Submarines are encouraged to make radio contact with fishing
vessels in an area where they are intending to conduct dived operations. To improve communications with fishermen all submarines have been fitted with VHF scanning radios and a
dedicated telephone number is now available in the Clyde area on
which fishermen can contact the Royal Navy. When submarines
dive in confined waters a surface vessel will always be present to
liaise with fishermen.
4.
Greater emphasis has been placed upon fishing vessel safety in
submarine training and many submariners, including officers
taking the Submarine Commanding Officers' Course, spend time at
sea in fishing vessels.
Following preliminary trials and a competitive tendering exercise the Department is purchasing sufficient 'net pinger' devices to carry out an extended in-service trial in the Clyde. The purpose of this
trial, which began in the spring of 1993, is to establish in an operational environment the value of attaching these devices to fishing nets to alert submarines to the presence of vessels engaged
in fishing.
We believe that these measures will enable the Royal Navy and the fishing community to function side by side as they have done for
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