A USS Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine sailed into Gibraltar on Sunday evening, May 10, 2026, as the Naval Base was busy under tight security. A 200 metre exclusion zone was in place around the South Mole until further notice.
A team of Royal Marines also arrived on the Rock on RAF transport planes the same day, adding to the heavy activity around the base. The Ohio-class is made up of 14 ballistic missile submarines and four guided missile submarines, and each boat measures 171 metres and displaces 18,750 tonnes submerged.
The Ohio-class submarines are the largest in the US navy, a scale that made the sight of the vessel in Gibraltar hard to miss even before the security cordon was fully in place. The tight restrictions around the South Mole pointed to a visit that was being managed with little room for movement, and with no indication that the exclusion zone would be lifted quickly.
What happened next was clear enough: Gibraltar remained under close watch as the submarine entry was handled behind a security screen, with the South Mole closed off to keep vessels and the public at a distance. GBC News published the report at 19:09 on May 10, 2026.
