nuclear-news

Incompetence in the nuclear submarine industry

A nuclear engineer glued broken submarine bolts back together in an
“unforgivable” error. The unsatisfactory repairs to HMS Vanguard’s
cooling pipes were discovered after a bolt fell off whilst being tightened
during checks inside the reactor chamber.

It is understood that the bolts,
which were providing insulation onto elements of the pipework, snapped off
after being over-tightened and were then glued back on by staff at Babcock,
a defence contractor. However, Navy sources criticised the nuclear
engineering company for a lack of “transparency” for having reported an
issue, but failing to disclose all the details. They said: “Nuclear
engineering is meticulously managed and while the effect of this failure is
insignificant, the actual act is unforgivable. “Instead of replacing the
bolt, they glued it back on and that’s not right,” they said.

Telegraph 31st Jan 2023

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/01/31/nuclear-engineer-glued-broken-submarine-bolts-back-together/

Times 31st Jan 2023

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/glue-used-to-repair-reactor-chamber-on-royal-navy-nuclear-submarine-r85pmrt56

February 1, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety