MPs slam MoD over failure to scrap old nuclear submarines in Scotland

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.
Several decomissioned submarines are currently laid up afloat at Rosyth Dockyard awaiting disposal. Picture: PASeveral decomissioned submarines are currently laid up afloat at Rosyth Dockyard awaiting disposal. Picture: PA
Several decomissioned submarines are currently laid up afloat at Rosyth Dockyard awaiting disposal. Picture: PA

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.

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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 English south coast.

The committee found that the MoD is reaching “crisis point” as it will be without storage space by the mid-2020s.

Despite making a commitment to dismantle one submarine, HMS Swiftsure, by 2023, that target will not have been met and the work is now not set to be complete until around 2026.

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MoD unable to dispose of nuclear submarines in Fife after decades

“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 noted.

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 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 long-term consequences, costing the taxpayer an eye-watering sum to maintain these machines in storage.

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“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 the UK now has twice as many submarines in storage as it does in active service.

In response, a spokeswoman for the MoD said at the time: “The disposal of nuclear submarines is a complex and challenging undertaking. We remain committed to the safe, secure and cost-effective defueling and dismantling of all decommissioned nuclear submarines as soon as practically possible.”