The ministry of defence confirmed the package was received at HMS Collingwood in Fareham, Hampshire. But the police were yet to establish if the package was an explosive.
The scare followed a series of occurrences last week in which letter bombs were sent to British military recruitment offices. Seven packages were identified as containing small, crude but potentially viable devices bearing the hallmarks of Northern Ireland-related terrorism. Security sources said they suspected a newly formed dissident republican group called the New IRA of being behind the packages. The seven parcels were made from basic packets of black explosive powder rigged to crude detonators designed to explode when opened.