The botched job reportedly sparked an urgent investigation as defense chiefs demanded assurances about future work
UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace has reportedly called for an urgent investigation after The Sun revealed that a routine inspection of one of Britain’s Trident nuclear submarines found evidence of bizarrely botched repair work.
According to a detailed report by the outlet, workers allegedly used super glue to fix a number of broken bolt heads used to hold together cooling pipes in the nuclear reactor of the HMS Vanguard.
Engineers from defense contractor Babcock appear to have originally damaged the bolts, but instead of replacing the them, they simply glued the heads back on.
The Sun details that at least seven bolts, all of which held insulation in place on coolant pipes which prevent reactor meltdown, were treated this way.
The potentially catastrophic repairs were only noticed earlier this month when one of the bolts fell apart during a routine check ahead of a scheduled first firing of the reactor at maximum power.
The incident reportedly sparked outrage among defense officials. Wallace has demanded a meeting and “assurances about future work,” The Sun reported.
A Navy source told the outlet that he was furious that Babcock had failed to inform defense officials about the botched repairs. “It’s a disgrace. You can’t cut corners with nuclear. Standards are standards. Nuclear standards are never compromised,” he told The Sun.
Repair work aboard the HMS Vanguard is being done as part of dry dock refurbishment at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth, which is already four years behind schedule and around £300 million ($370 million) over budget.
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America.
He made the remarks during Christmas greetings to the military.
Trump said the United States was "now going after the land" in its fight against drug cartel targets, noting that drug trafficking by sea was down 96 percent.
The U.S. president also extended special congratulations to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed in the Caribbean.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
