NATO chief Mark Rutte mocks Russia over 'limping' submarine in English Channel

NATO chief Mark Rutte has mocked Russia over a "broken" submarine that surfaced off the coast of France last week.

"Now, in effect, there is hardly any Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean left. There's a lone and broken Russian submarine limping home from patrol," he said during a speech in Slovenia on Monday.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet denied the submarine had surfaced because of a malfunction, instead claiming it was complying with navigation rules in the English Channel.

It also said on Monday that the submarine was conducting a "scheduled inter-fleet transit" after completing tasks in the Mediterranean.

The Novorossiysk submarine reportedly suffered a fuel leak, and the Dutch defence ministry said it was being escorted by the country's navy in the North Sea on Saturday.

"What a change from the 1984 Tom Clancy novel 'The Hunt for Red October,'" Rutte said during his speech. "Today, it seems more like the hunt for the nearest mechanic."

NATO'S Maritime Command said in a post on X last Thursday that the French navy was observing the submarine.

"NATO stands ready to defend our Alliance with constant vigilance and maritime awareness across the Atlantic," it wrote.

The submarine sighting follows several other sightings in the English Channel of ships allegedly belonging to Russia's so-called "shadow fleet".

French authorities launched an investigation earlier this month into the Benin-flagged Boracay oil tanker that was anchored off the coast of Saint-Nazaire in western France.

The so-called shadow fleet consists of aging vessels with obscure ownership and operating without Western-regulated insurance.

Russia's use of the vessels has also raised environmental concerns about accidents given their age and uncertain insurance coverage. A fuel leak on the surface submarine could raise similar concerns.