This month, engineers at Babcock International in the UK began recycling HMS Swiftsure, the lead vessel of a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines built for the Royal Navy. Babcock was awarded the contract last year to dismantle and recycle the boat, with the project scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.

While the reactor had previously been removed, it was only this month that the fin was cut and successfully removed from the boat’s hull at the company’s Rosyth Dockyard in Scotland. This program is notable because it marks the first time that one of the Royal Navy’s SSNs has been fully dismantled and recycled.

That may not seem all that noteworthy, except that the ex-HMS Swiftsure entered service in 1973 and was decommissioned 19 years later, in 1992, rather than undergoing a second refit.

For over three decades, the boat was stored at the non-tidal basin at Babcock’s facility, awaiting dismantling, and it isn’t alone.

The War Zone reports, “All the rest of the Royal Navy’s out-of-commission nuclear-powered subs are currently sitting in docks awaiting disposal, a process that is only now starting to happen, after years of stasis.”

The submarine is now taking on a new mission of sorts. It is being used as a “demonstrator” for the UK’s Submarine Dismantling Project, which international military analyst firm Jane’s explained “aims to incorporate lessons learned for all future submarines.”

Although 90 percent of the former sub can and will eventually be recycled, it is still a highly complex process that involves three stages. The first stage involves removing the less radioactive parts of the boat’s reactor, which may contain low-level radioactive waste (LLW). The second stage consists of removing all “intermediate-level radioactive waste” (ILW) and cleaning the vessel of any remaining radioactive material. 

Any components or equipment that are still classified are also removed at that stage.

Only after that work has been completed can the more routine recycling........

© The National Interest