Greenpeace today urged the government to bring HMS Trafalgar back to port and withdraw all Trafalgar and Swiftsure class 'hunter killer' submarines for urgent safety checks, following reports that HMS Trafalgar is suffering up to 270 different safety defects.
Greenpeace nuclear campaigner Jean McSorley said, "This submarine poses a real threat to the Irish Sea and the North East Atlantic. If an accident happened it would not only put the lives of the crew at risk, but if radioactive material escapes from the submarine it could threaten human health and contaminate whole swathes of marine life."
She continued, "We urge the government to withdraw HMS Trafalgar and all submarines of a similar design for urgent safety checks, to ensure a Kursk type accident, or worse, does not happen here. Further we need an official enquiry into the condition of these submarines, one that is not held under closed military rules".
"This incident reveals yet again the recklessness of using nuclear powered submarines and ships. The government must now urgently review its policy of relying on dangerous nuclear technology at sea," said McSorley.
HMS Trafalgar was one of 12 nuclear powered submarines withdrawn to port in 2000 following fears of a generic fault existing in the submarine reactors.
For more information contact Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
