Perle nuclear submarine returns to sea after world premiere – telegram

It is installed in the raft of the “basin boat” Rolldock Storm that the SNA Perle set sail, this Monday, from Cherbourg to Toulon. A relief for the 300 engineers and shipyard workers of Naval Group tasked with overhauling the most recent Ruby-class nuclear attack submarine in service.

Rescued SNA Perle after the 2020 fire

A fire broke out on board on June 12, 2020, while the building was docked, in the hands of their counterparts in Toulon, for a renovation intended to extend its life by ten years. Any delay was prohibited. There is no question of shifting the delivery schedule of the successors, the six Barracuda, which are also taking shape at the Pointe du Cotentin. The seed, the Suffren, is completing its sea trials and the next one, the Duguay-Trouin, is due to be launched soon.

After several months of studies to ensure that the properties of the special steel of the hull had not been altered, the engineers validated the option of repair. Several tens of minutes after the start of the fire, the temperature reached 240 degrees, revealed the judicial investigation still ongoing. Luckily, the interior had been emptied of its equipment, and the flames remained in series in the frontaway from the engine compartment. With the approval of the French Navy and the Minister of the Armed Forces, it was therefore decided to save the ship.

A “world first”

Complex, the bet deserved to be tried. “World premiere”, assures the hotel de Brienne, the operation consisted of cutting the front hull of the ship and replacing it with that of its twin, the Saphir, decommissioned a few months earlier in Cherbourg. Then to join together 130 cables and 70 hydraulic hoses. The cost amounts to 110 million euros, of which 50 million is borne by Naval Group insurance. A straw compared to the price of a Barracuda: around a billion, indicates Hervé Grandjean, the spokesperson for the Armies.

The stake was also crucial for the operations. Without the Pearl, the SNA squadron – six submersibles in theory – would have had to resolve to give up on missions. Indispensable, these deep hunters ensure the safety of nuclear missile submarines (SSBNs) for oceanic deterrence, escort the aircraft carrier and provide strategic intelligence. It was in 2023 that the Perle submarine, finally renovated, and having gained 1.5 m and 60 tonnes in the process, must resume sea.