Spain monitors Gib submarine visits for radiation, Madrid confirms

The Spanish Navy routinely monitors radiation levels in the Bay of Gibraltar every time nuclear-powered submarines call at the Rock, the Spanish Government has confirmed.

Although the radiological surveillance had been reported before by the media, it had never been publicly confirmed by the Spanish authorities until now.

The tests are conducted by a specialist navy unit based in Rota called the Grupo Operativo de Vigilancia Radiológica (GOVRA), or radiological surveillance operational group.

The Spanish Government also confirmed that GOVRA personnel also took samples in the Bay of Gibraltar after the Royal Navy’s nuclear powered submarine HMS Ambush was involved in a collision with a merchant ship last July.

Photo by David Parody

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