British High Commissioner Vicki Treadell says fire at nuclear submarine shipyard won’t disrupt AUKUS plans

A “significant” fire at the United Kingdom’s major submarine manufacturing factory “can’t and won’t” disrupt the AUKUS timeline, London’s top diplomat in Australia has declared.

The blaze at BAE Systems’ nuclear shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness broke out early Wednesday morning (local time), requiring two staff members to be treated for smoke inhalation. Local police were quick to declare there was “no nuclear risk”.

A spokesperson for the company said a full investigation would be carried out.

But the fire prompted serious questions about the impact it could have on the $380bn AUKUS deal, given shipyard is where the first SSN-AUKUS submarines will be designed and built.

British High Commissioner Vicki Treadell sought to quell fears, telling the Nightly that AUKUS would remain on track.

“The key thing is that obviously we can’t let it, and it won’t disrupt the production line,” she said.

“Not least because it is the production line for our current submarines and our future generations... We can reassure (people) that the fire was contained, sorted out, there was no danger in terms of the nuclear element, and we’re back on track.”

The Australian Government is working with its UK counterparts but has not yet received any advice to suggest the AUKUS timeline would be impacted.

“We haven’t had any advice that there are any concerns around AUKUS or deliverability of that, but obviously it’s early days,” Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said on Thursday.

“There’s good communication. It’s a strong partnership and we’ll continue to work with them.”

Under the $380bn AUKUS deal, Australia will purchase American submarines to bridge the gap as it works with the UK to custom build the nuclear-powered fleet.

The specially designed SSN-AUKUS vessels are set to begin service in the late 2030s in the UK, and early 2040s in Australia.

The commitment to reaching that deadline was reaffirmed when Defence Minister Richard Marles met his British counterpart John Healy last month to sign a bilateral treaty.

Although set to be negotiated in confidence, the two ministers believe having a separate strategic and operational bilateral framework would help the two countries focus on the core elements of the submarine deal, and would accelerate the design, build, and delivery of the SSN-AUKUS.

The future of AUKUS was cast somewhat in doubt when Labour won Government earlier this year, but three months into Sir Keir Starmer’s prime ministership, Ms Treadell said if anything “momentum was continuing”.

“What people have to remember here in Australia, that sometimes gets forgotten, is this is our nuclear deterrent too,” she said.

“We were going to build what we now call SSN-AUKUS anyway. But with Australia coming on board, we will be building it together.

“So, we’re never going to stop our own program. That means we’re not stopping what we’ve agreed to do.”