Hundreds of new jobs coming to Devonport

4 LAID-UP NUCLEAR SUBS FINALLY TO BE DEFUELED

- By WILLIAM TELFORD [e-mail]

HUNDREDS of jobs are to be created in Plymouth after Devonport Dockyard operator Babcock International Group was given £114m by the Government to start defueling four laid up nuclear submarines.

The defence giant has been awarded a three-year contract to prepare for the first nuclear defueling of a decommissioned Trafalgar Class submarine in more than 20 years, and said that it will need 150 extra workers directly, with 300 jobs likely to be created in the supply chain.

This £114m contract from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will see Babcock working with the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) and leading industry partners on preparations to remove the nuclear fuel from four decommissioned subs. Industry experts predict they will be HMS Trafalgar, Turbulent, Tireless and Torbay, the oldest Trafalgar Class boats in storage at Devonport. The defueling work is due to start next year.

Defueling is a key precursor to full submarine dismantling and must be undertaken before the full dismantling process starts. All the work will take place at Babcock’s Devonport facility, marking what the company called a “significant milestone in the UK’s Submarine Dismantling Project”.