A written answer in Parliament has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively considering multiple locations for the UK’s permanent submarine dismantling and disposal capability.
Responding to Graeme Downie MP, defence minister Luke Pollard said the demonstrator vessel Swiftsure continues to be dismantled at Rosyth and remains on track to complete in 2026. He noted that “there are six further legacy submarines in Rosyth awaiting to enter the dismantling process.”
Those boats, alongside the 15 stored at Devonport, form the initial batch being processed under the Submarine Dismantling Project.
Pollard confirmed that the enduring solution will be delivered through a separate effort, the Submarine Disposal Capability Project, which is still in its concept phase. He stated that the department is “assessing options for the capability and its location with various sites under consideration within the UK,” adding that Parliament will be informed once a decision is ready.
This aligns with the practical pressures on the Defence Nuclear Enterprise. Rosyth can process only a small number of hulls at a time, while Devonport’s workload is dominated by defuelling, refit work and major safety driven upgrades. Both sites have finite regulatory and environmental headroom.
The broader SDP context helps explain the direction of travel as since 2013 the programme has been tasked with dealing with 27 retired submarines, removing radioactive and conventional waste safely and refining methods as it progresses. Swiftsure’s dismantling has already informed improved procedures, and the MoD reports that later boats will see faster and cheaper waste removal.
The Swiftsure project has proven the process, but the long term question remains open: where should the UK base a facility that will handle future decommissioned submarines on a rolling, multi decade basis. Pollard’s answer confirms that this decision is now in play.
They should put it somewhere in England that needs the jobs. They can tow all those old rusting nuclear submarines there too, I’m fed up living down wind from them. Rosyth was deemed not worthy for Trident refulling by John major’s government so they should find a nice Tory marginal seat or better yet Clacton which is apparently the poorest constituency in the UK.
Are you trying to suggest that the subs in rosyth are dangerous, because they arent. And all of a sudden scotland doesnt want ship work? Thats alright then well move it all south so we can stop listening the the whining.
You were all keen for the jobs these boats brought in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The South Coast has enough to clear up. All because successive Governments have not dealt with the question since Dreadnought paid off in 1981!!
These subs have been alongside rusting, in some cases for decades, at Portsmouth?
Is it only now that MoD is looking for a site for conducting disposal activities?
MoD is also still looking for sites for the 6 new ammunition factories.
Zero sense of urgency!
No nuclear submarines have been laid up at Portsmouth.
They can’t there is no room and Portsmouth has no Z Berths
Morning Graham.
Kicking the can down the road.
Which, in a way, I can understand, given that the military is falling apart in places given the lack of money and mass, while much of our vast budget is spent on non military areas.
Which has been expanded by this government just like the last one.
I can see it now…”disposing of these Submarines is world class, agile, and keeps the UK people safe in an uncertain world.”
Or utter cobblers to that effect.
Yet another draw on the budget ignored by countless previous idiots.
Surely the frigate support Centre at Devonport are perfect for this?
It exists is the right size (more or less) & cannot be used for the new frigates.
Re-purpose this facility and create a new covered complex somewhere else on site for the escorts.
Its not rated for nuclear work
But that can be sorted, as they are doing the vanguards out in the open in dock 9, must be better option than just leaving them unused and building new. Is rating them really that difficult?
Well our active subs require earthquake rated drydocks. Maybe that’s different for decommissioning but only after the nuclear reactor and other components has been removed which can only be done in Rosyth and 15 dock
They are at Plymouth and Rosyth.
I would love to see the exact wording of this (clearly planted) Parliamentary Question, because I suspect the whole point of it was for the MoD to highlight what was happening to Swiftsure and that its dismantling is on track.
I suspect it was not primarily about the sometime future location for the dismantling and disposal of nuclear submarines.
No it is about the long term location for dismantling.
Graeme Downie is the local MP for Rosyth and wants the jobs in Rosyth.
Local SNP councillors in fife are trying to create hysteria over the submarines presence,
The MoD should get off its arse an announce where this work will be based. If it’s now deciding it won’t be at Rosyth then what was the point in people there undertaking a very difficult and Dangerous job with Swifsture for the work to get else where and the skills lost.
Have you noticed the increase in UK military decommissioning and scrapping at the moment and virtually silence when it comes to new kit…….apart from items that make people vomit!
These submarines have been decommissioned for decades at this point, some first entered service in the early-mid Cold War.
I know it is not possible but it would have been good to see one of the bombers as a museum boat.
The elephant in the room is what happens with the slightly more difficult ones.
Swiftsure was an easy one and I’d be keen to keep doing the easy ones to make sure progress is made which removes the ability for various people to moan.
Mmm I’m not going to say much on this subject as it’s a bit of a quagmire.
There is decommissioning and then there is dismantling and there is the Nuclear element and 90% non nuclear !
The US have a lovely way of doing this task, they remove the hull section with the reactor / irradiated areas in (after de fuelling), then well the ends up then cart it off to be stored and eventually deep buried.
The rest of the boat is non nuclear and can just be broken up / recycled (No nuclear licence needed).
And if it were me I’d be doing exactly the same thing
Weld not well 😏
Don’t dismantle them. Some people say the reactors are old and dangerous, frankly sounds like poppycock, the safety margins they were designed with would have been excessive. Perhaps the pressure hulls might have been stressed but again the safety margins.probably exceed common sense. But those excuses are stupid. The obvious thing is to convert them to drone bombs. When (following the orange Putin forcing Ukraine to capitulate to the Moscow Putin while our spineless wussies watch, the Russians come for the rest of us, which they will, then we can send them to the coasts of Russia and the USA packed with explosive to make a filthy bomb
And how exactly do you plan to control these underwater drone bombs seeing as its so “obvious”
There are many ways of controlling them – lets be honest you can today go and have a look at the underwater drones we already have developed.
Its not like we need to control them well, we just need to get them going in the right direction and blowin up when they get there. We can probably do that with very basic technologies, after all we dont really care if the reactor gets a bit hot, or similar. they wont have people on board so safety is not a concern. I dont even care if what you do is have a long whipariel sticking up out of the water.
Its not a sane idea that any country would do, the subs are just as likely to sink and create a hazard at the bottom of the ocean
Frankly I don’t care that much, if we are fighting for our survival and need to deploy such things then if one or two needs clearing up later then it’s tough. To be honest I don’t see why they should suddenly decide to sink enough route given that they have been floating for a good wile since being withdrawn.
Honestly that’s the most stupid idea I’ve ever heard !
1. When a Nuclear Submarine decommissions the first part of disposal is to de fuel it ! So all the fissile material and depleted HEU is removed before the hulk is put into controlled storage. So there is no actual massively radioactive material onboard just irradiated metals which although radioactive isn’t exactly what you would want for a dirty
2. As the boat no longer has its prime propulsion system it’s reduced to either running on the back up Diesels using the Snorkel or short range battery powered Egg Beater. The first option isn’t quite like a purpose designed SSKs and it’s very dirty (have you ever seen a Nuclear Sub doing a cold move ?) the Second is very short range and very slow (you also need to turn the diesels on to recharge the batteries).
3. Within 30 minutes of you trying to leave the UK the entire planet will know an old Boat is on the move via Satelite.
4. A dirty bomb is a very slow way of killing folks as it relies on the wind to distribute the materiel and as such it may go out over the sea. But it is still classified as an NBC weapon so as both the US and Russia are nuclear powers the UK would be an irradiated desert within 30 mins of your Dirty bomb going off.
I suggest you lie down and stop watching Dr Strangelove.🥺
Yesm the fuel is removed, of course, but then it can be put back. The sub will then have plenty of stuff to become dirty. Given you only need steam to turn the turbines you dont even really need to use the reactor though anything else is plain wasteful and difficult so I would just refuel it and detonate it. The only part removed is the fuel so the rest of the prime system is there, even if it wasnt then frankly the diesel will get it to where it needs to go. Yes, the whole world knows where our surface ships are as well, does it mean we scrap those? Oher countries also have surface ships that we know where they are… Yes, we would be an irradiated deset, I dd not propose this as a first strike wouldnt that be fun answer, but we need to deter russia and america from attacking us, we have spare subs not fit for lot and technology to turn them into huge drones full of unpleasant stuff.
Millom is being touted as a geological disposal facility; Trigger is up the road.
Both Barrow in Furness and Millom are tidal / estuary.
And Sellafield is just up from Drigg with a lot of decommissioning taking place.
Would Millom, sh!thole that it is, be a place worth considering?
Problems are that you would need to start from scratch building drydocks etc and with Barrow and Sellafield being so close the available local workforce is pretty well tapped out and commuting from Lancaster or anywhere else isn’t exactly easy.
FYI I used to have to go up to Barrow from Derby occasionally and after a few trips I got so fed up with A590 I decided to stay in Arnside or Silverdale instead and get on the Train ! That actually made it a really nice little experience as I could do a spot of walking on Arnside Knot / Hutton Roof or Bird watching at Leighton moss or just stay on the Train to Carnforth and visit The Snug for a 🍺 or 3 and back on the train to my digs for dinner.
Lovely part of the world, friendly locals just a shame about all the Touroids !