Delays in scrapping redundant nuclear subs are ‘unacceptable’
● MPS’ report criticises MOD inaction dating back decades
The failure to dismantle the UK’S fleet of redundant nuclear submarines – many of which have been laid up afloat at Rosyth dockyard for decades – is “unacceptable and unnecessary”, MPS have concluded in a damning report.
Analysis by the House of Commons public accounts committee published yesterday criticised the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for the continual delays in disposing of the 20 decommissioned vessels.
The oldest of the submarines, HMS Dreadnought, has been moored in Fife for almost 40 years – double the length of time it spent on active duty.
No submarines have been defuelled since 2004, when regulators said facilities did not meet required standards, with the process not due to start again until 2023.
Seven of the decommissioned vessels are moored at Rosyth, with the remainder at Devonport on the south coast of England.
The committee found that the MOD is reaching “crisis point” as it will be without storage space by the mid2020s.
Despite making a commitment to dismantle one submarine, HMS Swiftsure, by 2023, that target will not be met and the work is now not set to be completed until around 2026.
“To avoid running out of space and to meet its commitments, the department must achieve the milestones it has set itself over the next ten years, including by having commercial arrangements agreed for defueling by the end of 2019,” the report stated.
MPS have called on the MOD to deliver an update on the project by March next year.
Committee member Douglas Chapman, the SNP MP whose West Fife constituency includes Roysth dockyard, said the report was “a damning indictment” into how successive UK governments had failed to deal with the defueling and dismantling of submarines.
He continued: “Action should have been taken on this decades ago, but putting off the decision has had longterm consequences, costing the taxpayer an eye-watering sum to maintain these machines in storage.
“This task is not a lumbering chore, but an opportunity to create jobs and take advantage of the skill-set in Scotland – including West Fife in my own constituency, where some of the subs are stored.
“The Tories need to wake up and work with contractors to ensure a constant stream of work to safely dispose of these redundant boats and to make ensure there is no further delay – and cost to the public purse.”
The committee’s report follows a scathing analysis by the National Audit Office published in April, which found that the UK now has twice as many submarines in storage as it does in active service.