HMS Sceptre visits Simon’s Town: Where’s it going?
Apr 8th, 2010 by Johan
British Swiftsure-class nuclear fleet (attack) submarine HMS Sceptre (S104) arrived in Simon’s Town yesterday for a 11-day visit after its visit was approved by the South African National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) approved the visit, despite apparent opposition from some environmental groups.
Visits by nuclear-powered vessels are no longer uncommon. The Sceptre’s visit follows that by US Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS San Juan (SSN 751) in November last year. The Russian battlecruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) docked in Cape Town for a few days in January last year while the the US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt visited Cape Town in October 2008. read more here…..
South Africa to allow UK nuclear submarine despite protests
The South African Navy told Digital Journal in an earlier interview that the HMS Sceptre had been delayed by ”operational requirements” but did not elaborate. But British newspapers claimed that the nuclear attack submarine had been ordered to the Falkland Islands near South America because of renewed tensions between the United Kingdom and Argentina, who fought a war in 1982, when Argentina temporarily occupied the islands, but was defeated by British forces.
The UK’s Mail Online said the row erupted when a British oilrig, the Ocean Guardian, which had been towed from Scotland, was reported to have found oil off the islands. The Mail said the HMS Sceptre was sent to ”boost security” in the area and counter any possible sea borne threat from Argentina. read more here…
BTW: Can anyone tell us what happened to South Africa’s third sub?
