BAE Systems’ nuclear shipyard suffers “significant fire”

BAE Systems’ nuclear shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness has suffered what emergency services called “a significant fire”.

At around 00:44 GMT on 30 October, firefighters and ambulances were called to the shipyard. Two people were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation and later released. No other injuries have been reported.

There was also “no nuclear risk”, according to Cumbria Police. An investigation into the cause of the fire began almost immediately.

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The shipyard’s Devonshire Dock Hall, its main building facility, was evacuated overnight. BAE Systems advised “non-essential staff” to work from home in the immediate aftermath of the blaze.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said that it had taken “15 appliances” to extinguish the fire, indicating a significant burn.

The Barrow-in-Furness shipyard covers around six acres which makes it the second-largest indoor shipbuilding complex of its kind in Europe. The four Vanguard-class submarines that have formed the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent since the 1990s were built at the yard.

Currently, the site has been building four new nuclear submarines in the Dreadnought class (set to replace the Vanguard submarines in the early 2030s at an initial cost of US$42 billion). The yard has also been building the last of the Royal Navy’s seven new nuclear-powered submarines in the Astute class. Pre-existing delays before the fire had pushed back the launch date of this final boat in the Astute class to 2026. Whether the fire will further stretch that deadline, and in fact whether the fire will have any notable impact on the completion timelines for the yard’s current builds, remains to be seen.

While the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, all but “non-essential” staff have been instructed to return to work.

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