THE largest nuclear submarine in the US navy has docked in Gibraltar, bypassing the nearby American naval base in Rota.
The USS Alaska made a rare stop in Gibraltar on May 10, where it was welcomed by British Royal Marines who were especially deployed.
A 200-metre exclusion zone was established around the vessel following its arrival and will remain in place until further notice.
The Alaska belongs to the US Navy’s Ohio class – the largest submarines in the fleet and a pillar of America’s nuclear deterrence strategy.
At 171 metres long, the submarine can carry up to 24 Trident II D5 nuclear missiles and is capable of deploying nuclear warheads.
It is not the first time the Alaska has docked in Gibraltar.
The submarine previously visited the Rock in June 2021, while fellow Ohio-class submarines the USS Florida, USS Rhode Island and USS Georgia also made stopovers there in 2022.
Back in 2022, Spain’s Foreign Office protested the decision to use stopover services in Gibraltar rather than at Rota’s naval base, which is only 141 km away.
Spanish authorities said they had special protocols in place in Rota especially for nuclear submarines in order to minimise environmental impact and ensure public safety.
The decision to dock in Gibraltar marks a further snub of the Rota military base.
It comes after US-Spain relations soured when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez refused to let the US use Spanish military bases in Rota and Moron as part of its offensive in Iran.Â
President Donald Trump consequently threatened to ‘cut off all trade’ with Spain.
As Sanchez continues to criticise the US’ war in Iran, Trump said he would ‘probably’ remove American troops from Spain – there are approximately 3,800 US troops stationed in Spain.
Authorities have not provided further details on the length of USS Alaska’s stopover in the Rock or the purpose of the visit.
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