Almost 40 years ago, two fishermen noticed oil stains in the water off Torumskar Island. The footprint led them to a submarine that ran aground close to a Swedish naval base. As it soon turned out, the submarine belonged to the Soviet Union
According to RIA FAN, the US publication The National Interest reported that the Swedish military has a long tradition of looking for Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea. The reason for this was an incident that took place in 1981.
“Almost 40 years ago off Torumskar Island, two fishermen noticed oil slicks in the water. The trail led them to a submarine that ran aground near a Swedish naval base. As it soon turned out, the submarine belonged to the Soviet Union. The C-363 Project 613 submarine, with a crew of 56, was scouting after the Swedish navy tested a new torpedo. Although Sweden positioned itself as a neutral state, Stockholm’s proximity to NATO forced the Soviet Union to patrol in its vicinity”, – the publication said.
The USSR sent an entire flotilla to the scene, but Swedish vessels blocked its path. After questioning the crew, the Swedes handed the boat over to Moscow. The countries managed to avoid a conflict. Nevertheless, it was this incident with the “spy” submarine that led the Swedes to start hunting for Russian submarines.