Devonport

Posted: 6th September 2026

following the site operator’s release from 12 years of enhanced nuclear
safety oversight. A parliamentary answer this week confirmed that
acceleration of work on 10 and 14 Dock is being explored as part of the
£7.1Bn Project Royal Oak investment in the base. Faster progress cannot
come soon enough. The RN currently has just three facilities able to take a
nuclear submarine out of the water: the shiplift at Faslane and 9 and 15
Docks at Devonport. 9 Dock is occupied by HMS Victorious in deep

maintenance, while HMS Audacious only vacated the refurbished 15 Dock in

June after becoming the first Astute-class boat to dock at Devonport. HMS
Astute will take her place as she begins a lengthy mid-life validation
period. Under a £750M contract awarded in 2023, 10 Dock is being
modernised to provide a second Devonport dock certified for both SSN and
SSBN maintenance. Any acceleration would directly benefit submarine
availability. Work on 14 Dock addresses a different but equally
longstanding bottleneck. Its recommissioning will allow submarine
defuelling to resume at Devonport for the first time

since 2004, when the
old facilities were judged to fall short of modern standards. Of the 14
decommissioned boats stored afloat in 3 Basin, 10 still contain nuclear
fuel, while their storage and maintenance costs around £30M annually. The
old defuelling cranes have been replaced by a Reactor Access House that
moves on rails over the reactor compartment, with roughly one boat per year
expected to be defuelled once operations begin.

 Navy Lookout 3rd Sept 2026

 https://www.navylookout.com/devonport-nuclear-submarine-dock-upgrades-could-be-accelerated/