[BITList] Nuclear submarines went to sea with potentiallydisastrous defect | UK news | The Guardian

[HUGH]

Mike,

Non technical people, especially those on the Independent,  shouldn't write
about technical matters, however, I managed to get to the problem
eventually.  As you say, what about the Engineers on the vessel?  Would they
have been involved in the work being done in Devonport?  Regardless, they
who fitted the blanks should have removed them, and the Engineers should
have noted the shipside blanks still in place - two chances missed.
Standard BI procedure before leaving drydock was always to check every
overboard valve worked on.  Standard procedure before putting starting air
on a main engine on Standby was to check the turning gear was out (sometimes
twice if in an uncertain mood) - standard procedure in other circumstances
was to have verification by the deck that all was clear aft. Standard
procedure after taking out a turning gear was to pass the hand twice through
the gap.  These were not "safety procedures" dreamed up by a committee, they
were an ingrained part of a culture.  I still sometimes get out of bed to
check I've unplugged the TV - as nightwork fiver, when purifying lub oil, I
often used to get paranoid about losing the seal, causing me to make
countless trips up and down.

The above hinged on hull valves being blanked.  One winter in Greenock, the
MV Clan MacIver was alongside the big crane in the James Watt Dock being
fitted out.  A couple of hull valves in the ER, low down on the port side,
were removed for some reason, leaving only the shipside pads with their
holes in the middle. At knocking off time the job was left till next
morning.  The holes being above the water line, and the dock being a Wet
Dock, there seemed no reason to consider the future, however, it being
winter, it was the time of the equinoctial gales, and one of these sprang up
overnight.  The wind took the ship over to port enough to put the openings
below the water level.  Eventually the combined turning moments of wind and
internal water snapped the hawsers and she heeled over as per the photos.

Hugh.
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