A British sailor has been arrested after entering an officer’s cabin on a Royal Navy warship with a loaded gun, the defence ministry said Saturday.
The incident happened on the HMS Edinburgh, a Type 42 destroyer, off the coast of Portugal on September 28.
The Royal Navy Police have launched an investigation, the ministry said.
“The Royal Navy can confirm that a rating from HMS Edinburgh was arrested following an incident on September 28 and the rating was returned to the UK,” a ministry spokesman said.
“The incident is still under investigation and no charges have been made; therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Concerns have been raised over the security of firearms on British warships after a 20-year-old sailor killed himself with a ship’s rifle onboard the HMS Cattistock in August.
In a separate incident, a sailor killed an officer and injured another in a shooting onboard the HMS Astute while the nuclear submarine was docked in Southampton, southern England, in April last year.
Able Seaman Ryan Donovan was jailed in September 2011 for at least 25 years for the murder.
Sailor arrested over warship gun incident
