Updated: Wednesday, March 16, 5.45pm

There was a mystery guest at Silverleaves this morning. 

A local resident spotted this submarine that surfaced in the waters off Cowes, just before 8am.

"We watched it coming west from Cowes, then it did a U-turn and stopped in front of Silverleaves," they said.

(story continued below video)  

(Video credit: Greg Price)

Crew could be seen on top of the sub, which stayed in place for around 10 minutes, before moving on.

The Defence Department has since confirmed that a Royal Australian Navy submarine is "operating in the Eastern Australian waters", but did not provide any explanation or details about the submarine's appearance on our shores.

"Navy's submarines regularly train in Australian waters and visit Australian ports," a Defence spokesperson told the Advertiser.

"For operational security reasons, Defence does not provide the names and positions of their submarines whilst at sea."