Our nuclear submarines are spending too long at sea

A Vanguard-class submarine used for Britain’s nuclear deterrent has resurfaced after a record-breaking 204 days at sea. Relatives gathered on the Rhu Narrows point yesterday to welcome back their loved ones as the sailors returned to HM Naval Base Clyde, in Scotland.

When the submarine departed last year, it was still summer, President Biden was in office and Chancellor Rachel Reeves had yet to deliver her first budget. The boat would have sailed out to open sea, dived and followed a pre-planned route known only to the commanding officer and a handful of others on board, meticulously avoiding any other vessel in her path.

She will have remained underwater for the entirety of the next 204 days. Unsurprisingly, when the submarine resurfaced yesterday, she looked grey, barnacled and rusty compared to her sleek, black replacement, which had swept down the Clyde four days earlier.