CPE wins submarine doors contract

The contract includes all associated locking mechanisms; tunnel door and shielding plug arrangement; tunnel hatch; re-fuelling plugs; and a variety of other blanking plugs and inserts. The watertight doors will be manufactured at CPE’s workshops in Workington and delivered in stages, starting from January 2009 through to February 2010. This contract follows similar contracts for the supply of equipment to Astute Class submarines 1 to 4. Equipment for Boats 1-3 has already been delivered, with equipment for Boat 4 currently progressing through CPE’s workshops. CPE project manager Vaughan Wilson said CPE had already carried out numerous contracts for similar work on the Astute Class submarine, including watertight doors, torpedo tubes and re-fuelling plugs. The watertight doors in themselves were very complex items. “Some of the items require special materials, heat treatment or need to be fabricated, so it all involves a lot of engineering skills and technical know-how,” Wilson added. “There’s a lot of complex welding required on the project. We use a range of different welding techniques on the doors, including MIG, TIG and flux-cored arc welding, either manually or automatic.”