A ROYAL Navy commander crashed his nuclear-powered submarine into a shallow pinnacle he failed to spot on navigation charts, a court martial heard.

Commanding officer Commander Steven Drysdale, officer of the watch Lieutenant Commander Andrew Cutler and navigation officer Lieutenant Lee Blair all admitted an offence of neglecting to perform their duty at a previous hearing.

The court martial was told yesterday that the charge relates to the grounding of HMS Superb as it travelled through the Red Sea on May 26, 2008. The damage submarine was later decommissioned at Devonport.

Captain Stuart Crozier, prosecuting at Portsmouth Naval Base, told the hearing the submarine had been suffering from technical problems, causing it to lose speed.

He said there was pressure on Cdr Drysdale to ensure the submarine arrived in the Gulf on time for planned operations.

Capt Crozier said Cdr Drysdale ordered a new route to be plotted which cut about four miles off the previous route.

He also ordered the submarine to dive at a deeper depth where there was colder water, allowing the submarine to travel faster.

The new route was to be travelled at a depth of 250 metres rather than the planned depth of 100 metres.

But when the new route was charted by the plotting officer, who does not face the court martial, all three defendants failed to spot the pinnacle marked on the map as 132 metres deep.

The hearing was told the pinnacle, which was the sole shallow point in the area, was highlighted on other charts but these were not used by the submarine crew because they had not been approved for navigation.

Capt Crozier said: "There was a significant amount of damage to the forehead of the submarine but no casualties."

Cdr Alison Towler, representing Cdr Drysdale, told the court the commanding officer had since been moved to a desk job.

She said the service had also stopped Cdr Drysdale from taking up the high-profile position of Royal Navy staff officer submarines in Washington DC, US, shortly after the incident.

She said: "Cdr Drysdale wishes to express his deep remorse and regret in relation to the incident which has led to this court martial."

Cdr Joe Turner, representing Lt Cdr Cutler, said: "He regrets the incident and fully accepts his responsibility."

Cdr Stuart Wright, representing Lt Blair, said the navigation officer was "fatigued" at the time having lost his signal communications officer to illness.

He said that since the incident Lt Blair had been involved in officer training at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, but would be once again taking up a post of navigation officer onboard the Devonport-based submarine HMS Turbulent later this month.

The submarine had to abandon its planned deployment but was able to return to the UK under its own power.

Drysdale pleaded guilty to "failing to ensure the safe direction" of the submarine while Cutler pleaded guilty to "failing to supervise the plot officer adequately".

Blair pleaded guilty to "failing to take into account all the dangers in or near the planned movements of HMS Superb".

Cdr Drysdale was sentenced to a reprimand to remain on his record for three years.

Lt Cdr Cutler, who is undergoing a conversion course to surface ships, was given a severe reprimand for three years and Lt Blair a reprimand for two years.