BAE Systems - test barge
Introduction
The photograph on this page of BAE Systems - test barge by Chris Allen as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
BAE Systems - test barge
Image: © Chris Allen Taken: 21 Sep 2018
This photograph is from the public road and there are no signs banning photography from a public place. I was initially puzzled by this plastic wrapped structure with plumbing on top. However, BAE Systems released a photograph that is on the internet showing this floating alongside and hooked up to a nuclear submarine during commissioning. Therefore it would appear to be a barge used for commissioning/testing submarines. What exactly it does is not clear but my best guess is that it is involved with reactor commissioning before the steam actually goes to the submarine's own turbine plant. HMS Audacious was seen alongside in the Devonshire Dock and is the fourth of the Astute class hunter killer SSNs.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
54.109727
Longitude
-3.234489