Z-Berth

See also X-Berth

A Z-Berth is a berth designated for occasional operational or recreational visits by nuclear-powered warships.

1989 listing

The definition was given in Hansard, Written Answers, May 5, 1989:

Ms. Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the purpose of a Z-berth ; if Z-berths have permanent safety precautions against radiological hazards ; and if he will publish in the Official Report the locations of all the Z-berths in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : A Z-berth is a berth designated for occasional operational or recreational visits by nuclear-powered warships. Its safety arrangements will include a public safety scheme prepared after discussion with the local authorities and civil emergency services, which will provide for a Royal Naval incident commander and a naval emergency monitoring team in the area to stand by throughout any such visit to respond to an emergency. The monitoring team has access to a supply of potassium iodate tablets, and carries out monitoring during the visit.

The United Kingdom Z-Berths are at Barrow-in-Furness, Barry, Brodick bay, Campbeltown, Cardiff, Coulport and Loch Long, Devonport and Plymouth Sound, Faslane, the Firth of Forth, Glen Mallan, Lamlash bay, Lerwick harbour and the Shetland Isles, Liverpool, Loch Ewe, Loch Fyne, Loch Goil, Loch Striven, Portland, Portree, Portsmouth, Raasay (Broadford bay), Rosyth, Rothesay, Southampton, Spithead, Thurso bay and Torbay.

� UK Parliament ^[1]

1991 listing

A similar question in 1991 produced the following list:

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the locations of all Z-berth sites in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

United Kingdom Z-berths, including buoys and anchorages, are at:

(Scottish sites are shown in italics. Barry is assumed to be Barry, South Wales.)

Barrow-in-Furness
Barry
Broadford Bay
Brodick Bay
Campbeltown
Cardiff
Coulport
Dales Voe
Devonport and Plymouth Sound
Faslane
The Firth of Forth
Glen Mallan
Holy Loch
Lamlash Bay
Lerwick
Liverpool
Loch Ewe
Loch Fyne
Loch Goil
Loch Long
Loch Na Beiste
Loch Striven
Portland
Portree
Portsmouth
Raasay
Rosyth
Rothesay
Southampton
Spithead
Thurso Bay
Torbay

- Hansard. ^[2]

Portsmouth Naval Base description

In a reply to Southampton City Council fax received in 1999, the Naval Base Commander Portsmouth, provided a detailed description of the purpose of a Z-Berth.

Although the council fax is not included, it is significant to note that the response includes a section which is clearly in response to a point regarding maintenance or repair, or to the granting of permission for a nuclear submarine with a damaged or leaking reactor.

NAVAL BASE COMMANDER PORTSMOUTH
Semaphore Tower

HM Naval Base

Portsmouth
Hants
PO1 3LT

Tel: 01705 7/Tel No 22007
Fax: 01705 7/Fax No 24041

Southampton City Council
Civic Centre
Southampton
SO14 7LY
(for Emergency Planning Officer)
2 Jun 99

SOUTHAMPTON NUCLEAR SUBMARINE Z BERTH

Reference:

A. Southampton City Council Fax dated 26 May 99

The purpose of Z berths is to provide submarine crewmembers with an opportunity to make occassional operational or recreational visits to port. Where circumstances permit, they can also be utilised to give the general public the opportunity to look round a nuclear powered submarine.

It is not and never has been MOD policy to use Z berths to carry out maintenance or repair of the submarine reactor or to provide a safe haven for a damaged nuclear powered warship. Entry with a leaking or damaged reactor would most certainly not be permitted.
- Letter to Southampton Council describing Z-Berth.^[3]

List of Scottish Z-Berths c. 1995

In 1995, 17 Z-Berths were listed in Scotland (courtesy of the Scottish CND web site and its 2004 Fortress Scotland publication), but this number dropped fairly quickly thereafter, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in 1991, with only six Z-Berths being reported active by 2000.

The following table ignores the earlier and more obscure Z-Berths listed before 1995, which could not be identified as no records have been found to date which provide coordinates for their locations.

Bold locations are those known to active at the time of writing, and may be subject to change. Click the link in the first column to open the map marker:

Scottish Z-berth usage in days for the years 1992 to 1994 is also shown, as reported in Hansard, May 7, 1996.^[4]

Map marker	Z-berth	Usage			Scottish CND entry
		1992	1993	1994
Broadford Bay, Skye, Z-Berth, inactive	Broadford bay	0	0	0	Broadford Bay Z-Berth
Brodick Bay, Arran, Z-Berth, inactive	Brodick bay	0	0	0	Brodick Bay Z-Berth
Campbeltown Loch, Z-Berth, inactive	Campbeltown	0	0	1	Campbeltown Loch Z-Berth
Coulport, Loch Long Z-Berth, active	Coulport	51	94	66	Coulport depot
Dales Voe, Shetland, Z-Berth, inactive	Dales Voe	0	0	0	Dales Voe Z-Berth Dead link
Dalgety Bay, Fife, Z-Berth, inactive	Dalgety bay	0	0	0	Dalgety Bay Loch Z-Berth
Firth of Forth	Firth of Forth	0	0	0
Glenmallan, Loch Long, Z-Berth, inactive	Glen Mallan	0	0	0	Glenmallan Z-Berth
Holy Loch, Z-Berth, inactive	Holy loch	0	0	0	Holy Loch note
Lerwick Harbour, Shetland, Z-Berth, inactive	Lerwick	0	0	0	Lerwick harbour Z-Berth Dead link
Loch Ewe 2 Z-Berths N A T O - P O L Jetty, active	Loch Ewe	0	0	0	Loch Ewe Z-Berth
Loch Ewe 2 Z-Berths A1 buoy, active	Loch Ewe	0	0	0	Loch Ewe Z-Berth
Loch Goil Z-Berth, active	Loch Goil	3	14	14	Loch Goil Z-Berth
Loch Striven, Z-Berth, inactive	Loch Striven	0	0	0	Loch Striven Z-Berth
Portree, Skye, Z-Berth, inactive	Portree	0	1	0	Portree Z-Berth
Raasay Z-Berth, inactive	Raasay	0	0	0	Raasay Z-Berth
Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Z-Berth, active	Rothesay	0	3	0	Rothesay Z-Berth

REPPIR 2001

The requirements of the Radiation Emergency Preparedness and Public Information Regulations (REPPIR) 2001 meant that Z-Berths at commercial ports had temporarily ceased while the local authorities prepared and tested plans to comply with the regulations, work which is funded by the MoD.

Hansard reported a response by the Secretary of State with regard to Z-Berth status in 2006, which implied that only the Z-Berths at Broadford Bay, RNAD Coulport, Loch Ewe, and Loch Goil were still active then:

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of Z-berths; what the reasons are for reinstating them; and what criteria were used to choose locations for them. [55616]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 6 March 2006]: The Royal Navy has two kinds of nuclear submarine berths: X-berths at Devonport, Faslane and Barrow in Furness, which are the only places where maintenance on nuclear propulsion systems may be carried out; and Z-berths which are used for operational recuperation, material re-supply and personnel changeovers. Z-berths support the Royal Navy's ability to operate flexibly throughout UK waters, which is key to its contribution to the security of the UK homeland.

Until 2001, the Royal Navy could use Z-berths in Broadford Bay, Cardiff, RNAD Coulport, Hull, Liverpool, Loch Ewe, Loch Goil, Portland, Portsmouth and Southampton. With the introduction of the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations in 2001, responsibility for production of emergency planning arrangements transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the relevant local authority. The Royal Navy has therefore temporarily ceased use of Z-Berths in commercial ports to allow local authorities time to develop and test their own plans. The Ministry of Defence supports and pays for this work.

The following Z-berths are now covered by the necessary plans and are available for use by the Royal Navy: Broadford Bay, RNAD Coulport, Loch Ewe, Loch Goil and Portsmouth. The MOD is currently working with Southampton city council to finalise the emergency planning arrangements necessary to re-establish full Z-berth status in Southampton, and is discussing the planning requirements for the berth at Portland with Dorset county council and Weymouth and Portland borough council. Preliminary discussions have also been held with Sefton metropolitan borough council in Liverpool.

- Hansard, March 9, 2006.^[5]

De-activations after 2000

Broadford Bay

On November 28, 2008, the Daily Record reported that the Royal Navy had asked the residents of Broadford to return their supplies of anti-radiation (iodine) tablets as the berth at Broadford Bay was no longer in use. Potassium iodide (KI tablets, or SSKI: Saturated Solution of KI liquid drops) can be given to people in a nuclear disaster area when fission has taken place, to block the uptake of radioactive iodine-131 by the thyroid.