ICELAND: Action in the North Atlantic

As a bitter winter wind churned up the North Atlantic waves last week, the Icelandic gunboat Thor headed for a covey of British fishing trawlers that had moved into a forbidden conservation area. Guarding the trawlers, the British frigate Yarmouth kept close cover on Thor. While both vessels were running closely abreast at a brisk 16 knots, one of them—the accounts differ—veered toward the other. Warning blasts were sounded, engines were thrown full astern. It was too late. Yarmouth's bow sliced into Thor, ripping away the starboard wing of the gunboat's bridge.

The Yarmouth-Thor collision—there were no casualties—was the latest...

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