Nuclear subs banned from berths over safety fears

The Ministry of Defence has secretly banned stricken nuclear submarines from berthing in a Highland loch because the public would be at risk from radiation leaks, the Sunday Herald can reveal.

Loch Ewe, on the northwest coast near Ullapool, is meant to be a haven for the Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered submarines if they have an accident.

But internal MoD documents disclose its use has been suspended because emergency exercises have betrayed major safety flaws. The MoD ran two exercises to test emergency arrangements in 2005 and 2008, but found they were plagued with “significant difficulties” at Loch Ewe’s two berths, one in the loch and the other near Aultbea, where there is a naval fuel depot.

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