Spain had designed a new submarine. However, the project encountered some physical and engineering problems. In turn, the solutions to these problems created even new problems. At first, it was a design error, which made the submarine unable to float. The solution was to make the submarine longer. As an unfortunate result, the new size of the submarine ended up too big to berth at Spain’s naval base at Cartagena.

Safety4Sea reports that the problems began with wrong estimations in the initial plans, and nobody had noticed them. As a result, the cost of the submarine has doubled, and it is now estimated to reach €1 billion or about $1.125 billion. Moreover, there are 4 submarines to be built.

Joseph Trevithick reported in Drive.com that in 2013, Navantia uncovered a serious and potentially fatal design flaw. The addition of more than 100 tons of added weight during development had thrown off the boat’s buoyancy characteristics, which meant it might not be able to resurface reliably. Also the Cartagena docks are shy of 256 feet long, while the S-80 Plus was now over 265 feet long.

According to Safety4Sea, the original design envisioned a 71-meter, 2,200-ton displacement vessel. After all the corrective measures were implemented, the S-80 Plus submarine is now an 81-meter, 3,000-ton submarine.

Andrew Jarocki reported in DefenseNews.com that the S-80 Plus was extended by 10 meters to increase buoyancy after the original model of the sub appeared unable to resurface and float, as first reported by the Spanish newspaper El País on 18-July-2018. However, the additional length meant it would also require a much larger docking infrastructure to be built at Cartagena naval base to fit the S-80 Plus. In order to accommodate the S-80 Plus, as well as the S-81, S-82, and S-83 subs, the Cartagena naval base would need to be dredged and reshaped to fit all four lengthened subs. Joseph Trevithick states that additional funds will be needed to upgrade the docks and facilities, costing upwards of $18 million.

The total price of the contract for the 4 Spanish submarines, excluding the expenses for new docking, has already nearly doubled after the unexpected challenges, reaching €3.9 billion or about $4.5 billion.

Spain’s Minister of Defense Margarita Robles stated over Spanish radio that while “there have been deficiencies in the project,” the problems “are already corrected and the project is absolutely viable.”

References:

• Trevithick, John. “Oops! The Spanish Navy Is Constructing New Submarines That Are Too Big For Their Pens,” Drive.com, 18-July, 2018.
• Jarocki, Andrew. “What’s the problem with Spain’s new submarine?” Defense News.com, 26-July-2018.
• “New Spanish submarine too big to berth at its dock,” Safety4Sea.com, 20-July-2018.