The 80-ton trawler was fishing for prawns in international waters in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and Britain when an object believed to be a submarine became entangled in the ship's nets. The ensuing moments played out like a Hollywood scene as the submarine began to tow the trawler backwards, The New York Times reports.
"It was like the scene out of 'Jaws' when the boat took off -- do you remember, the shark took the boat away?" the ship's skipper told the Times. "But multiply it by 100. It was just a bigger event."
The trawler nearly capsized as the boat was dragged backwards and began to pitch. The crew was forced to release the wires that held the net in place in order to prevent the submarine from dragging the boat underwater.