PORT ANGELES — A U.S. Navy submarine conducted a standard diving exercise in the Strait of Juan de Fuca this afternoon just west of the mouth of the Lyre River, the Coast Guard said.
The operation startled at least one coastline resident concerned something was wrong after he saw what he believed was smoke or steam billowing from the stern and possible liquid running down the side.
But the submarine “was not in distress,” said search and rescue controller Tom Brown of Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles, who would not name the submarine for security reasons.
For security reasons, the vessel was escorted by two 87-foot Coast Guard vessels out of Air Station Port Angeles, Brown said.