Submarine Decommisioning

Posted: 19th February 2022

CUTTING up an old nuclear sub to turn it into “razor blades and tin cans” will be a world first for Rosyth. Seven vessels have been laid up at the dockyard for decades – the last one came out of service in 1996 – and there’s finally some progress in getting rid of them. Three subs, Swiftsure, Resolution and Revenge, have had 90 per cent of their low-level radioactive waste removed and the next step is something no-one has tried before. Christine Bruce, assistant head of nuclear liabilities at the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA), explained: “Stage two is the most challenging and in some ways the most exciting part, when we take out what’s left of the centre of the reactor. “It’s the reactor pressure vessel, it’s like a giant kettle, but it’s the most radioactive part that’s left so taking it out is key to the rest of the submarine being able to be disposed of like a conventional ship.” Some countries with old subs have left the reactor intact but a different approach is being taken at Rosyth. She added: “The method we’re adopting is dismantling and no-one else has done that. “When we manage to cut it up by 2026 that will be a global first. No-one else will have cut up a nuclear submarine.” Ms Bruce told Forces News that safety was “paramount” and they expect to start work in late 2025. She said: “Once that’s out, the rest of the vessel will be non-radioactive, it’s scrap metal and can be put into the final stage of disposal, which is recycling. “There’s lots of very valuable steel and other alloys in there, there’s even some gold connectors!” It costs £30 million a year to maintain and store the subs and dismantling all 27 is expected to cost more than £3 billion. The Ministry of Defence has faced heavy criticism for the delays in getting rid of the subs – Dreadnought was retired in the 1980s and has been at Rosyth longer than she was in service.