Agamemnon puts to sea

HMS Agamemnon, the sixth of seven Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines being built by BAE Systems, has left the company's Barrow-in-Furness shipyard and begun sea trials, almost two years after her launch, ahead of joining the fleet at HM Naval Base Clyde.

Leaving Barrow was a long-planned two-day operation, taking the boat through the yard's basins, docks and locks and down the narrow Walney Channel before she reached the open waters of the Irish Sea.

The boat displaces 7,400tonnes and is 97m long. Like her sisters, she is powered by