Devonport Workers Entombed in Submarine Ballast

Two men ended up locked and sealed inside a nuclear submarine, it has emerged.

The incident at Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth which saw the men accidentally sealed in by colleagues has been described as “extremely unpleasant”.

The incident took place last December at HMNB Devonport base, Plymouth, where Britain’s nuclear submarines are refitted by contractor Babcock global, with a report saying the submarine was in dry dock at the time. Once they had completed their work and attempted to leave, they were horrified to find that the entrance had been sealed by other workers in preparation for an air tightness test. Finding they could not get any mobile signal, they climbed into the higher parts of the tank until, by chance, they picked up a weak signal and called for help.

The desperate electricians hammered on the tank with a drill and were saved when they got a faint signal on a mobile phone. In an attempt to be set free the workers used what was at hand to try and catch the attention of someone at the bottom of the dock.

A report said the men escaped “shaken but unhurt“.

“We are disappointed it was not in line with Babcock’s normal standards”.

It said an internal investigation was carried out and “changes to work control arrangements have been made”.

Submarine safety issues have been under the spotlight since a Royal Navy whistleblower exposed security lapses in UK’s Trident nuclear program, which make it easier for intruders to access some secured areas than “most nightclubs“.