THE whole crew of a nuclear-armed sub were evacuated when a Covid outbreak breached their strict quarantine.
HMS Vengeance sailors were isolating at base but an officer tested positive days before they were due to sail on a top-secret mission.
Insiders blame inspectors who came aboard the submarine at Scotland’s Faslane base last week for operational training.
After Friday’s positive test Navy chiefs triggered emergency protocols amid fears the virus would rip through the cramped sub, equipped with Trident nuclear missiles.
Ten sailors with symptoms or who had contact with the sick officer were evacuated hours later.
Another ten left on Monday and the other 148 crew stayed until yesterday when a new crew were due to take over.
A source said: “It would be a disaster if there was a Covid outbreak on a sub if it was on patrol. There’s no way they could isolate in the cramped living space.”
The crew had been in strict isolation for weeks with food delivered to their rooms and tests before coming aboard the sub.
A nuclear sub has always been at sea since 1969.
The Royal Navy would not comment.
