The Armed Forces Minister and Head of the Royal Navy publicly apologised on the 12th June for grievous "systemic failings" that led to two Royal Navy Crew being killed by an underwater explosion whilst working on Oxygen Units aboard HMS Tireless which was on exercise off Alaska last year.
This apology followed as the result of the publication of the report from the Board of Enquiry which detailed failures in:
But it does get worse:
The inquiry discovered some of the units were left in the open at the dockside for up to two weeks before being installed in the submarines, and that other oxygen generators which had failed manufacturers' safety checks may have also been put into service.
In the ministers statement, he included the following:
Quote
"I am extremely sorry, particularly to the families of those who lost their lives or were injured." The board of inquiry found that 996 "self-contained oxygen generators" used in Royal Navy subs had been found to be faulty and subsequently brought back into service. The paperwork relating to them had been altered"
Unquote
Ah now we move from incompetence and negligence and into a whole new ball game called : Criminal Mismanagement and Falsification of Records (in this case Safety Related).
One assumes Criminal Proceedings with be brought against any Civilians involved and Court Martial for those serving in the Armed Forces.
Sorry I am was being naive for a moment, no the reality will probably be the culture within the MoD will not change, the guilty will go unpunished and the MoD with its part-time political Master will continue on their merry way, apologising when its failures kill service personnel, because apologising doesn't cost money, whereas doing what is required does!
This apology followed as the result of the publication of the report from the Board of Enquiry which detailed failures in:
- acquisition
- manufacture
- transport
- storage
- stowage and logistics management
- Lack of Understanding
- Lack of Quality Control
But it does get worse:
The inquiry discovered some of the units were left in the open at the dockside for up to two weeks before being installed in the submarines, and that other oxygen generators which had failed manufacturers' safety checks may have also been put into service.
In the ministers statement, he included the following:
Quote
"I am extremely sorry, particularly to the families of those who lost their lives or were injured." The board of inquiry found that 996 "self-contained oxygen generators" used in Royal Navy subs had been found to be faulty and subsequently brought back into service. The paperwork relating to them had been altered"
Unquote
Ah now we move from incompetence and negligence and into a whole new ball game called : Criminal Mismanagement and Falsification of Records (in this case Safety Related).
One assumes Criminal Proceedings with be brought against any Civilians involved and Court Martial for those serving in the Armed Forces.
Sorry I am was being naive for a moment, no the reality will probably be the culture within the MoD will not change, the guilty will go unpunished and the MoD with its part-time political Master will continue on their merry way, apologising when its failures kill service personnel, because apologising doesn't cost money, whereas doing what is required does!
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