A Royal Navy investigation has been launched amid claims contractors tried to repair a Trident nuclear submarine with super glue. The repair job reportedly involved gluing together broken bolts in a nuclear reactor chamber on HMS Vanguard at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth.
The repair on crucial cooling pipes allegedly came to light when a bolt broke off during checks aboard the 16,000 tonne vessel. It had snapped off due to over-tightening but, rather than reporting the damage and boring out the broken shafts, civilian workers at defence contractor Babcock stuck the heads back on with glue, the Sun reports.
A procedural glitch - known as a process of work issue - was reported but there was no mention of the bolts and glue. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace insisted on a meeting and sought "assurances about future work" after the news was brought to his attention.
A source within the Navy said he was furious about Babcock's lack of transparency. They told the paper: “It’s a disgrace. You can’t cut corners with nuclear. Standards are standards. Nuclear standards are never compromised.”
The bolts were broken during a dry dock refurbishment and refuel at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth. The work, which started in 2015, is overdue by almost four years and costs £300 million more than expected.
Severe delays have resulted in lengthy patrols for the crews of the other three Trident 2 nuclear missile subs - HMS Vengeance, HMS Victorious and HMS Vigilance. They will be replaced as the UK's nuclear deterrent carriers by the Dreadnought class in 2028.
There were a minimum of seven glued bolts, which held insulation in place on coolant pipes that stop a meltdown like the one that occurred in Chernobyl in 1986. Investigators are searching through records in an attempt to establish when it happened and who was at fault. Workers always carry out their duties in pairs in line with nuclear safety protocols.
The MoD said: “As part of a planned inspection a defect was found from work done when HMS Vanguard was in dry dock. It was promptly reported and fixed. In light of the issue, the Secretary of State spoke with the chief executive office of Babcock to seek assurances about future work.”
Babcock told the Sun: “Any quality related issue is a huge disappointment, but our own robust inspection processes discovered the issue. There was no safety or operational impact from the work."
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