UK Royal navy vessel fires flares against Spanish patrol boat in Gibraltar

Rare incident, say UK sources

According to a report by the ‘Telegraph’, a sea skirmish took place Thursday between Spain and the UK, when the Royal Navy fired flares to warn a Spanish patrol boat approaching an American nuclear submarine off Gibraltar. The fast HMS Sabre fired warning shots across the bow of a Guardia Civil vessel as it twice tried to cross the path of USS Florida in Gibraltar’s waters. The incident is deemed serious as sources in the UK Defence Ministry says it was rare for a Royal Navy vessel to fire flares and it had only happened twice in the past two years. Spain disputes UK sovereignty over the strategic outpost, which is located at the tip of the Iberian peninsula.

HMS Sabre 

gib2

USS Florida

gib3