UK warship hits rock off Sydney

HMS Nottingham

SYDNEY, Australia -- A British warship is being assessed for damage after hitting a rock off the coast of Australia.

The Ministry of Defence, in London, said the Royal Navy Type 42 destroyer HMS Nottingham struck the rock near Lord Howe Island, 200 miles north east of Sydney, on Sunday.

It is thought that the 3,500 tonne vessel -- which is now off the rocks -- was holed in the collision.

It is not immediately clear how extensively she had been damaged.

"She is now considered to be stable and they are assessing the level of damage," a MoD spokesman told the UK Press Association.

There were no reports of any casualties among the 253 crew.

David Gray of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said that the ship was taking on water and had requested heavy pumping gear to be flown out.

Royal Navy divers were also being sent to the scene so that they could assess the scale of the damage below the waterline.

"We were advised by the harbourmaster at Lord Howe Island that HMS Nottingham had hit rocks, was taking water and was having steerage problems," Gray told Sky News.

"There was an urgent request for heavy duty pumping equipment. At the moment the Royal Australian Air Force are loading pumps and will be flying out to Lord Howe Island in the next three or four hours.

"It was rather a panic situation when the broadcast first came out because they weren't too sure how much water they were taking but they have moved to a position now and anchored just off the aerodrome on the island."

A spokesman for the Sydney Harbour Control told CNN that a message had been received from HMS Nottingham that "the situation on board is stable."

The ship is now anchored off Middle Beach on Lord Howe Island.

The 22-year-old vessel had been returning from a deployment in the Far East and Australasia when the accident happened.

She underwent a major refit in November 2000 and last year was deployed to the Middle East.