The nuclear attack submarine (SNA) Perle, devastated by a fire in June 2020, left Cherbourg on Monday, where it was repaired, to reach its base in Toulon, announced the Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly. "
After seven months of work
", Perle left "
Cherbourg for Toulon after having been repaired from the consequences of its fire,
" said the minister in a video posted on Twitter. The submersible, whose front part had been severely damaged by the incident, had been transported in December to the Normandy arsenal for a rare operation of splicing submarines. It was again loaded onto the semi-submersible Storm vessel for the return trip.
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“
This repair worked. We made a Lego with the rear part of the Pearl and the front part of the Saphir
”, a submarine which had just been withdrawn from active service, affirmed the spokesperson for the ministry, Hervé Grandjean. Cutting and welding of the two sections took place in May. It was then necessary to connect 130 electric cables and 70 hydraulic hoses on this submersible-chimera, which grew 1.5 meters in the operation to allow the installation of the cable junction boxes. In total, these operations, at a cost of 110 million euros (50 supported by Naval Group, 60 by the ministry), will have represented 350,000 hours of work, including 100,000 for studies. "
Today, we have cleared the fire and the Pearl is ready to resume its major technical shutdown
”, according to Hervé Grandjean.
Read alsoThe French submarine Perle, damaged in a fire, will be repaired
It was during these periodic renovations that the fire broke out, presumably caused by lighting that had consumed a sheet of vinyl plastic.
The judicial investigation into the exact circumstances of the fire is still ongoing.
The submarine was then emptied of its weapons, electronic equipment and nuclear fuel.
This project must therefore now resume where it left off.
In particular, the core of the nuclear reactor remains to be recharged with new fuel, which will allow it to sail for ten more years.
The submarine is due to resume active service in the first half of 2023.