The Royal Navy is offering �golden hello� and �golden handcuff� deals worth between £5000 and £25,000 to encourage new sailors to join the submarine fleet.
The Royal Navy is offering "golden hello" and "golden handcuff" deals worth between £5000 and £25,000 to encourage new sailors to join the submarine fleet and to persuade experienced senior staff to extend their commitment to the silent service.
The lump-sum cash bounties are being paid to stem shortages in key areas among all crews in the nuclear fleet, from sonar operation to atomic engineering.
Figures seen by The Herald show that the 13 attack and strategic missile boats are facing shortfalls of more than 20% among sensor operators, weapons specialists and the chief petty officers and lieutenants who act as nuclear "watchkeepers", supervising reactor and engine performance and safety. The main incentives on offer are £7500 for sailors willing to transfer from surface warship or shore duties, a £5000 bonus for trainees when they complete the submarine course and are awarded their distinctive "Dolphins" insignia, and £25,000 for officers and CPOs when they qualify as watchkeepers and agree to sign on for an extra three years.
Other bonuses include £1000 "recruit an oppo" payments for submariners who succeed in talking a colleague into joining an undermanned branch of the submarine service, and an extra £5500 boost for those who extend their tours after five years of experience.
An Royal Navy spokesman said yesterday: "There are undoubtedly manning issues affecting particular branches of the submarine service and this is one way to boost recruitment and retention.
"It has already been tried with some success by both the Army and the RAF."
A submariner who contacted the newspaper added: "Many guys opt for submarines intending to put in 22 years and then collect their pension and lump-sum terminal bonus.
"But a lot of them are still only in their early 40s at that point, with valuable training and experience under their belt.
"Submariners with practical nuclear experience are now worth their weight in gold because of the government's decision to go down the nuclear power station route to generate electricity.
"Although submarine pay and trade qualification bring in a fairly competitive naval salary, industry recognises that those with the knowledge are in a seller's market.
"It will take bounties to retain all but the most committed."
The RN has four Vanguard-class Trident missile boats and two Swiftsure attack boats based at Faslane on the Clyde, and seven Trafalgar-class attack submarines based at Devonport.
Crews have to be prepared to undertake patrols lasting up to three months at a time. The missile boats each have two complete crews to carry out alternative sorties.
At least one Vanguard is at sea at any given time as the UK's strategic deterrent, lurking deep beneath the Atlantic for the duration of their patrol cycle.
The attack boats are equipped for intelligence-gathering missions and trained for anti-shipping and land-attack roles in wartime. Their Tomahawk missiles launched from torpedo tubes can strike targets hundreds of miles inland from an enemy coast.
