Prof Peter Wadhams on submarine HMS Tireless
March 2007
Professor Peter Haynes, Head of Department, writes:
Professor Peter Wadhams' research involves travelling under the Arctic
ice in submarines to measure ice thickness. In March 2007 he was under the
ice on the submarine HMS Tireless when an explosion killed two members of
the crew. Peter is now back in DAMTP and suggested that I circulate the
message below. We in DAMTP are of course, very pleased to see Peter
safely back in Cambridge after what must have been a very sad and
unpleasant experience.
Peter wrote on 27 March 2007:
"This confirms that I was on the submarine HMS Tireless which suffered
the explosion on 21 March 2007 while under the pack ice in the Beaufort
Sea. Tragically, two seamen died. I am OK, as is my colleague Nick Hughes
who was with me on board. We were measuring sea ice topography with a
multibeam sonar and examining the present rate of thinning of Arctic sea
ice under global warming. I am back for a few days and will then be
returning to the Beaufort Sea to do some work at an ice camp with an
unmanned underwater vehicle as part of the International Polar Year
programme. It's nice to see the sky again and the spring in
Cambridge."
According to the Royal Navy, the accident did not affect the
submarine's nuclear reactor, the vessel sustaining only superficial
damage - and it surfaced safely within an hour.
Statement from the Commanding Officer of HMS Tireless
and photographs from ICEX-2007 (Ice Exercise 2007) from the
Royal Navy website.
The Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Tireless left the ICEX 2007
exercise in the Arctic early to return to Devonport after the
explosion.
ICEX 2007 is a joint US/UK submarine exercise which also involved the US Navy Los Angeles-class submarine USS Alexandria (SSN-757).
Media reports
Report of the explosion on the BBC News website, 21 March 2007.
Report in New Scientist 30 March 2007.
Subsequent news reports on Arctic ice thinning
Peter was interviewed in Cambridge on Channel 4 News, and other newsmedia organisations took up the story.