nuclear-news

Repair to nuclear submarine to cost British govt many millions

the cost of the repair was likely to be millions ‘Inevitable’ damage Depending on the damage, repairs to the £3.5bn submarine could cost between £1-2m right up to more than £100m, he said.

Submarine accident ‘could cost millions’ – Channel4 News, 25 Oct 10, The Ministry of Defence could face a bill of hundreds of millions of pounds to repair a nuclear-powered submarine which ran aground last week, depending on the damage, an expert tells Channel 4 News. The incident, in which the HMS Astute ran aground near the Isle of Skye, could also have longer term implications for the viability of the rest of the Astute-class fleet if any generic weakness in the boat is uncovered, Channel 4 News understands.

The HMS Astute ran aground on Friday during a sea trial. It has been transported into shore and the extent of the damage will be assessed by the Royal Navy at the Faslane base over the next couple of days. It remains unclear how the incident happened.

The Ministry of Defence has already confirmed that the boat is watertight and the nuclear system on board has not been damaged. But there could be damage to other parts of the ship – including its propulsor or external sonar system – and kinks or dents to the hull.  …..

Submarine expert John Large, a nuclear engineer who led the risk assessment team for the raising of the damaged Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, told Channel 4 News the cost of the repair was likely to be millions ‘Inevitable’ damage Depending on the damage, repairs to the £3.5bn submarine could cost between £1-2m right up to more than £100m, he said.

Submarine accident ‘could cost millions’ – Channel4 News

October 26, 2010 - Posted by Christina MacPherson | UK, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons