11 fires in 25 years on nuclear subs
Siew Peng Lee • Published 27 Jul 2012 10:00
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NUCLEAR submarines at Rosyth have seen 11 fires in the last 25 years, Press Online has learned.
The blazes were among a total of 266 which have occurred on UK nuclear subs in the past quarter-century - including 74 on ballistic missile submarines.
The MoD has confirmed that the fires at Rosyth occurred between between April 1994 and August 2001.
Of this total, four were on board the HMS Sovereign (1994, 1995 and twice in 1998); three each on the HMS Sceptre (1999, 2000, 2001) and HMS Spartan (twice in 2000 and once in 2001); and one on the HMS Resolution (1996).
This month, Peter Luff, the minister for defence equipment, revealed the number of fires aboard nuclear subs in response to a parliamentary question posed by SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson.
Mr Luff disclosed that of the 266 fires, 243 were "small-scale" and categorised as a "localised fire" such as a minor electrical fault creating smoke.
There were 20 medium-scale fires, categorised as a localised fire - such as a failure of mechanical equipment creating smoke and flame - requiring use of significant onboard resources.
In addition, three fires occurred while submarines were in naval bases.
Mr Luff said information on whether ballistic missile submarines were armed with nuclear weapons when the fires occurred was not available.
A MoD spokesman said, "No fire on board any Royal Navy submarine has ever had an impact on nuclear safety or the ability to operate a continuous at sea deterrent.
"Due to the nature of submarine operations, meticulous records are kept of all incidents involving fire, however small.
"Most of those recorded were minor electrical faults that were dealt with quickly, safely and effectively.
"The Royal Navy operates a stringent safety regime on board all its submarines and all personnel receive regular and extensive fire safety training."
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