Faslane-on-Clyde

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HMNB Clyde is a base of the Royal Navy in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland . Together with the neighboring naval base Coulport , the official name is Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde or HMNB Clyde for short .

Base

View of the base

The four British submarines carrying ballistic missiles of the Vanguard- class of the Royal Navy Submarine Service are stationed in Faslane . The nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles of the type Trident D5 with which the submarines are equipped, are in the adjacent rnad coulport stored.

In addition to these submarines, the Swiftsure- class nuclear-powered hunting submarines were also stationed in Faslane until 2010. The Trafalgar- class hunting submarines were not stationed here, but regularly called up the base for maintenance and repair work. The last two active units were relocated to Faslane in 2019/20. The new Astute class submarines are also based in Faslane. By 2008, a new pier was built for the latter that can accommodate six of them.

In addition to British, US and French nuclear submarines also regularly call at the base. In 2003, a new dock facility was put into operation in Faslane, which is intended to significantly simplify the maintenance and repair of the submarines.

A total of 3,000 military and 4,000 civilian employees work on the base.

Furthermore, the NATO Submarine Rescue System is stationed in Faslane , which is operated by Great Britain , France and Norway as a trinational project. The Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines are also based in Faslane, they are responsible for securing the facilities and ships of the Royal Navy.

Fleet (Faslane Flotilla)

Protests

A permanent peace camp called Faslane Peace Camp has existed south of the base since June 12, 1982. The Trident Plowshares organization in Faslane has also been protesting for Great Britain's nuclear disarmament since the 1990s . Thereby found u. a. several large blockades took place. The largest took place on July 4, 2005 in the run-up to the G8 summit in Gleneagles . While previous blockades were cleared by the police, the G8 blockade was the first to block all land entrances to the base for an entire day. A vigil has been held every Wednesday at the North Gate of the nuclear weapons base since February 2008 . On June 14, 2008, hundreds of protesters formed a "chain of peace" on the 40th anniversary of the nuclear missile deployment.

Faslane 365

From October 1, 2006 to October 1, 2007, the annual Faslane 365 protest took place . The anniversary of the verdict of the Nuremberg Trials was chosen as the first day of the protest . Faslane 365, like previous protests by Trident Plowshares, relied on a legal opinion of the International Court of Justice dated July 8, 1996, according to which the threat or use of nuclear weapons violates international law. 131 groups took part in the protest. Over 1200 people were arrested and a Greenpeace ship that was trying to break into the base was seized.

Attitude of Scotland

In 2014, in the referendum on Scottish independence, nuclear submarines played a major role in Scottish waters . The national Scottish ruling party SNP wants a nuclear weapons-free Scotland. After Brexit and thus the question of Scotland's whereabouts in the United Kingdom, the question of stationing arose again. Brendan O'Hara ( SNP ) pointed out that Canada and Norway were also NATO members and would not allow nuclear weapons on their territory.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Graeme Esson: Picnicking for peace at Faslane , BBC. July 4, 2005. Retrieved November 16, 2013. 
  2. ^ MOD Police respond to Faslane 365 - a year of protest , Ministry of Defense . January 9, 2008. Archived from the original on September 4, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2013. 
  3. ^ Dispute over nuclear power in Great Britain. In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved July 18, 2016 .

Coordinates: 56 ° 4 ′ 1 ″  N , 4 ° 49 ′ 6 ″  W.