Captain Britanov filed a suit in 2001, claiming that Warner Bros. did not seek or receive his permission to use his story or his character for a movie. He also claimed that the movie did not portray the events accurately and made him look incompetent. In September 2004, a court ruled in Britanov's favor. Captain Britanov declines to state the amount of the award; descriptions range from "substantial damages" down to tens of thousands of dollars.
The United States Navy categorically denies that any U.S. submarine collided with the Russian Yankee submarine (K-219) or that the Navy had anything to do with the cause of the casualty that resulted in the loss of the Russian Yankee submarine.
Utilised some sets and props that had previously been used in previous big budget productions with Submarine scenes, notably 'The Hunt for Red October' (1990) , Raiders of the lost Ark (1981) and 'Das Boot' (1981).
John Rothman, who plays the Aurora Executive Officer, wears a name badge marked "J.J. Gordon". This is the name of the film's dialog coach, who also played the bearded "Officer Four" seen in the Russian naval headquarters sequences.
Had an unusually high budget for a one off made for TV drama at the time (approx. $5 million) hence this being a BBC/HBO co-production with additional assistance from a German production company. The budget, whilst significant, was well used by the production team who utilised some dormant sets from previous productions to give the film a cinematic look belying it's TV movie roots.