The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is waiting for the arrival of the US nuclear submarine USS Florida (SSGN-728) at the Basa Naval Gibraltar, after which it will decide the next steps it will take, without ruling out a protest like the one Spain made to the US last April for a similar event.
The submarine was scheduled to dock yesterday, Tuesday, at the Gibraltar Naval Base, but finally its arrival was postponed until today, Wednesday, without the reasons for this delay being known. The submarine is scheduled to make a so-called “routine stopover”, but the expected duration of its stay, between four and eight days, suggests that it is not so much a routine stopover for crew rest as a possible stop for maintenance or repairs, as reported by the Noticias Gibraltar portal.
Last April, the Spanish government protested to the United States over the arrival of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Georgia in the port of Gibraltar. On this occasion, Foreign Ministry sources told The Diplomat that Spain is awaiting what happens with the USS Florida before taking a decision, including a possible protest to the United States.
Just a few days after the arrival of the USS Georgia last April, the British nuclear-powered submarine HMS Audacious (S122) docked in Gibraltar. Foreign sources consulted at that time recalled that, in any case, Spain cannot prevent this type of calls, because the port of Gibraltar, with its internal waters, was ceded by Spain to the United Kingdom under Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. However, the objective of the Spanish authorities is to ensure that “this type of calls take place with the maximum safety guarantees for the inhabitants and for the environment”.
The submarine USS Florida has been active for 40 years and has already been in Gibraltar on four other occasions, in 2008 (three days), 2011 (four days), 2016 (one day) and 2019 (seven days). The ship is part of the Atlantic Force’s 16th Submarine Squadron and is currently equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles, although it was previously equipped with ballistic missiles.
The association Verdemar-Ecologists in Action warned yesterday of the arrival of the submarine and denounced that the military port of Gibraltar “is becoming a port ‘X’, where they take submarines to repair.” “This type of work on nuclear submarines in Gibraltar puts the population of the Campo de Gibraltar and the Strait in danger and at risk,” he added. According to the organization, since the HMS Tireless was repaired more than fifteen years ago, more than one hundred nuclear-powered submarines have passed through Gibraltar. For this reason, Verdemar demanded yesterday that “Gibraltar is once and for all free of nuclear-powered devices and other ships that are real floating bombs” and urged the Spanish government to “make clear this servitude in the treaty negotiations on the relationship of Gibraltar in Europe.
