Navy Divers Dispose of Mine Caught By Fisherman

Members of the Royal Navy's Northern Diving Group, based at HM Naval Base Clyde, Faslane, have safely disposed of a large mine which was dragged up by a fisherman near Port Seton in East Lothian.
Fisherman Robert Thomson dragged up the exercise mine in his boat the Emma Jane.

The 12-foot-long (3.7m) 'A' Mark 12 exercise mine, probably dating back to the late 1970s or early 80s, was concrete-filled and contained no live ordnance.

However, the team of four bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion to avoid it causing a hazard to any other shipping.

Chief Petty Officer Lee Yates, leader of the duty bomb squad, said:

"It was pretty straightforward stuff. The boat had netted what the fisherman initially thought was a torpedo and we were called out to investigate.

"On further inspection it turned out to be an old practice mine - perfectly harmless, but still quite a sizeable object.

"The fisherman had originally landed the mine onto the deck of his boat, which is not something we would recommend, and we asked that he put it back into the water at a marked location in Gosford Bay, where we would inspect it.

"We did that and have now safely disposed of it."
 
"The net got snagged around it on the sea bed and I wasn't able to haul it in. It was quite a struggle, maybe three quarters of an hour. At one point I thought we might have to cut the net.

"And then we had to bring it onto the boat to clear it from the net. It was only later that I found out these exercise mines are filled with concrete which explains why it was so heavy.

"Quite a lot of these things appear round here and we all know what to do. I called the Coastguard which then alerted the bomb disposal guys at Faslane."

Northern Diving Group Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jason White, continued:
"The team has done a great job on this. In this case, whether the mine turned out to be live or not, the operation still involved diving in challenging and very cold conditions to conduct a controlled explosion with a diver-placed charge.

"It is only straightforward because of the professionalism of the team and their experience.

"If anyone finds any historic ordnance on a beach or if a fishing boat does drag up such a thing, they should immediately report it to the Coastguard or police, who will then call us out. If it is on a beach we recommend that people do not tamper with it and keep well clear.

"If it is brought up in nets, we strongly advise that it should be reported - again to the Coastguard or police - who will alert us. We can then have a conversation with the boat to find out their location and advise on where it is safe to place the object and in what depth of water. It's not advisable to bring the object back to port or to land it within the boat."

The Northern Diving Group is part of the Fleet Diving