LONDON – Nine servicemen of Royal Navy have been fired after a drug was found in their blood while on duty amid reports of drug parties on the vessel, international media reported.
The sacked sailors, who had been serving aboard a nuclear submarine, HMS Vigilant, after they tested positive for taking cocaine in class A drug test.
The test was conducted at a time when the submarine, which carries the Trident nuclear deterrent, was docked in the US to collect nuclear warheads.
Saying drugs misuse will not be tolerated, Royal Navy said: “Those found to have fallen short of our high standards face being discharged from service.”
Earlier, the Royal Navy has also thrown off another serviceman named Lieutenant Commander Michael Seal, 36, for allegedly having an “inappropriate relationship” with a female crew member, Lieutenant Hannah Litchfield, 27, who has also been taken off the submarine.
Earlier this month, the submarine’s captain Commander Stuart Armstrong, 41, and Sub-Lieutenant Rebecca Edwards, 25, had been removed from duty for alleged extra-marital relation.
Edwards had made her way to the armed forces after achieving a first-class degree from the University of Bristol.
Another sailor of HMS Vigilant’s 168-strong crew faced court-martial for AWOL – absent without leave – and going to the UK just to see his girlfriend.
The navy had imposed a ban restraining women from serving onboard vessels in 1990; however, it was lifted in 2011. The female crew had been deployed on submarines three years ago.
According to BBC, HMS Vigilant is one of Britain’s four Vanguard-class submarines which hold up to eight Trident missiles armed with nuclear warheads.
The submarine is based at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde at Faslane in Argyll and Bute.
All Royal Navy vessels have a “no touching rule” that prohibits intimate relationships on board.
