Batteries Stolen In Zaragoza Were Destined For S-80 Submarines In Cartagena

The construction of the Spanish Navy's S-80 submarine at the Navantia shipyards in Cartagena has been hit over the last few years by a series of misfortunes, including lack of available funding from the Ministry of Defence and technical problems which necessitated a complete rethink of the proposed design, causing substantial delays in the anticipated delivery dates of the first units and leading to concerns that the Spanish submarine fleet could be seriously under strength within a couple of years as the old S-70 series is gradually withdrawn from service.

In this context the news that 70 huge batteries stolen from premises in Zaragoza were intended for use in the construction of the S-80 is little more than a minor setback, especially since the batteries have now been recovered by the Guardia Civil from recycling companies in Bilbao, Zaragoza and Soria.

Each of the batteries weighed 600 kilograms, but despite their size it was not until a lorry carrying nine of them got stuck in the mud on 25th March that the Guardia made any progress in their investigations.

Read more