More than £250,000 worth of diesel has reportedly been stolen from a naval base in Devon. The thefts are believed to have taken place over the course of several weeks at the Royal Navy's HMNB Devonport base in Plymouth.
It is understood that the fuel was intended for generators that power up HMS Bulwark, which is one of the Royal Navy's two amphibious landing transport docks - the other is HMS Albion. The Sun has reported that the value of the stolen diesel was in excess of £250,000 but that figure is yet to be confirmed officially and, contrary to the national newspaper's story, a HMNB Devonport source told PlymouthLive that the fuel was not taken directly from HMS Bulwark.
Devon and Cornwall Police will not be investigating the thefts, as they occurred on Ministry of Defence land, while Babcock International, who work in partnership with the MoD at the base, have declined to comment on the matter. HMS Bulwark is used to land Royal Marines and their trucks and tanks ashore by air or sea, but it has been mothballed and not seen active service for a number of years.
It is due to re-emerge from a refit, though, next year and the HMNB Devonport source said: "Subcontractors working for Babcock were getting fuel for the generator which is being used to power HMS Bulwark whilst its being worked on. The fuel was meant to be in one of those smaller six-wheel tankers but didn't arrive.
"It looks like someone was trying to get away with the diesel last September. Babcock did stop the person and there's an ongoing investigation."
Luke Pollard, Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, told PlymouthLive that the thefts raised "serious questions" about the security protocols in place at the base. He said: “The theft of fuel from a Royal Navy warship is not only criminal it takes scarce resources away from our military in a time of national crisis.
"With the armed forces facing more and more cuts, having such a huge amount of fuel stolen is not only embarrassing, but it also raises serious questions about the security at one of our most secure naval bases.” An MoD spokesperson, meanwhile, reportedly told The Sun: "The MOD is aware of an incident involving the alleged theft of fuel from a contractor within HMNB Devonport. There was no disruption to Defence operations and the MoD has no further comment.”
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