No official probe is to be held into claims that a Russian submarine may have snagged itself on a trawler as it fished off the Outer Hebrides.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has concluded its initial investigation and has decided not to mount a full inquiry.
Skipper Angus Macleod said he and his four crew were “extremely lucky” after his net was dragged in front of his 62ft boat off Lewis.
The Royal Navy has said there were no British or Nato subs in the area at the time.
There has been speculation that Russian vessels have been operating off the Scottish coast.
Mr Macleod’s wooden boat Aquarius was fishing for haddock, monkfish and skate about 10 miles east of the Butt of Lewis in 360ft of water on March 10 when the incident happened.
The following month the skipper of an Irish trawler said his boat was towed by a submarine 18 miles off the coast of County Down.
Mr Macleod, 46, from Barra said: “I am not surprised the MAIB has ruled out a full investigation. They are there to investigate accidents and there was no accident – there was an incident, and a potentially dangerous one.
“The MoD has never talked to me about the incident, but every one of us on board know they had a lucky escape that night.”
“The submarine that snagged us knew that it had – and we are very grateful that they took the action they did, otherwise we would not be here.”
The Ministry of Defence said it did not usually comment on submarine activity, but maintained that no Nato subs were in the area at the time.
The incident happened in the run-up to Europe’s biggest war games taking place off the west coast of Scotland.
Exercise Joint Warrior, which ended last month, involved more than 50 ships, including submarines.
Mr Macleod said his boat suffered about £10,000 of damage in the incident, and had to be towed back to port by the Stornoway lifeboat when its steering developed a fault.
He has not been told the results of MAIB tests on a sheared bolt caused by the accident.
A spokesman for the MAIB said it had decided that “no further action” would be taken over the Aquarius incident.
However, whether to mount a full probe into the Irish Sea drama is still being considered.
Four fishermen died in the Firth of Clyde in 1990 when the Scottish trawler Antares was dragged under by the nuclear-powered HMS Trenchant submarine.