At the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, England, vibro piling work to create a cofferdam around HMS Alliance has been completed – four days ahead of schedule. Work now has started on preparing the inside of the cofferdam for backfilling with a lightweight granular aggregate. The project to save HMS Alliance received a $5.3 million grant back in May. Exposed to sea water by the museum quayside, the outer structure of HMS Alliance had corroded so badly that parts literally were in danger of falling into the sea below, a rusting process that has proved hard to arrest due to difficulties of access.

An urgent program of restoration is vital to replace the rusted component parts, followed by the provision of facilities to ensure that proper maintenance is possible. At the same time, HMS Alliance’s exterior needs to be restored to her pristine condition.

To aid preservation, and to create the access necessary for low-cost maintenance, it is necessary to reclaim land underneath the submarine so that it is on dry land, using a cofferdam and backfill. The cofferdam will protect HMS Alliance, and allow restoration work to be carried out safely.

The estimated cost of the project is $10.3 million. The sum raised to date is $9.6 million, leaving approximately $664,000 to be raised. If you can help support HMS Alliance, please contact bill.sainsbury@submarine-museum.co.uk.