''Perle'' is a first-generation
nuclear attack submarine of the
French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
. The boat is the sixth and last of the
''Rubis'' series. Construction began on the submarine on 27 March 1987. The boat was
launched on 22 September 1990 and entered active duty service on 7 July 1993.
History
The boat was deployed in the Royal Navy Auriga 2010
exercise
Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...
alongside seven
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
warships and one
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
.
2020 fire
On 12 June 2020 at 10:35 a.m., a fire started at
bow of ''Perle'', while in
drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
for maintenance and repair at the military port of Toulon. The fire was reported as under control at 9:36 PM.
Firefighters flooded the rear compartments of the submarine with foam. At least 30 specialist naval fighters and a
fireboat
A fireboat or Fire-float Pyronaut, fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with ...
were involved.
There were no reported injuries in the fire. Since the submarine's 48 megawatt pressurized water nuclear reactor had been removed when it entered the drydock in January 2020, there was no risk of
radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of Radioactive decay, radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is uni ...
.
In October 2020 it was announced that the submarine would be repaired using the forward section of her decommissioned sister boat, . The repair was to begin in January 2021 with envisaged completion in 2023.
In October 2021, the joining of the forward section of ''Saphir'' with ''Perle'' was said to have been completed and the submarine was transferred from the Cherbourg shipyard back to Toulon to resume her original refit where it had been interrupted by the June 2020 fire. The joining of the forward section of ''Saphir'' to ''Perle'' involved about 100,000 hours of study and more than 250,000 hours of work. At the end of the process, the submarine's displacement increased by 68 tonnes and her length by about one meter.
''Perle'' was scheduled for continued work through 2022 with sea trials envisaged toward the end of the year and a return to operational service in the first half of 2023.
2022 fire and return to operational service
While continuing
refit
Refitting or refit of boats and marine vessels includes repairing, fixing, restoring, renewing, mending, and renovating an old vessel. Refitting has become one of the most important activities inside a shipyard. It offers a variety of services for ...
in dry dock at the arsenal in Toulon, Perle experienced another fire on 26 September 2022. Prior to the fire, the submarine had been slated to return to service in the first quarter of 2023.
On 17 November 2022, the submarine left dry dock to continue her tests prior to an envisaged start of sea trials. The submarine returned to sea in May 2023 for the start of post-refit sea trials. In July she was declared ready to return to a regular operational cycle in the fleet until 2028.
See also
*
List of submarines of France
The submarines of France include Nuclear submarine, nuclear attack submarines and nuclear ballistic missile submarines of various List of submarine classes, classes, operated by the French Navy as part of the Submarine forces (France), French Subma ...
Notes and references
Sous-marin nucléaire d'attaque ''Perle''netmarine.net
Rubis-class submarines
Submarines of France
Ships built in France
1990 ships
{{France-mil-ship-stub