ARCHIVED - Floating submarine museum proposal outlined for the seafront in Cartagena

Image (copyright): The S-61 “Delfín” in Torrevieja

The Delfín submarine has been awaiting its fate in Cartagena since being withdrawn from service 15 years ago

It is 15 years since the Spanish navy’s S-62 “Tonina” submarine was retired from service , since when it has been in dry dock in the Navantia shipyards in Cartagena, but now at last plans are in the pipeline to convert the boat into a tourist attraction in the same way as its sister ship the S-61 “Delfín” in Torrevieja, in the southern Costa Blanca.

After a series of meetings between the regional government, the Port Authority, the navy and the Town Hall of Cartagena it was announced last Friday that the Tonina is to be re-located to the seafront in the city centre next to the eye-catching whale’s tail sculpture. Here it will complement the Naval Museum which stands alongside.

However, in announcing the decision Admiral Aniceto Rosique pointed out that this is a very costly project with the budget running into millions of euros and called upon the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses to contribute to it coming to fruition. Previous attempts to bring the Tonina into service as a tourist attraction have always run up against budgetary limitations, and it is to be hoped that on this occasion funding can be found.

The “Delfín” was acquired by the Town Hall of Torrevieja in 2004 and incorporated into the town’s “floating museums”, an initiative which is described by the local authorities in the Costa Blanca resort as having been a great success.

Nineteen S-60 class submarines were built in Cartagena following the approval of plans in 1964, four of them being delivered to the Spanish navy and the rest to France, Pakistan, Portugal and South Africa. The S-61 Delfín and the S-62 Tonina were launched in 1973 and were taken out of service in 2003 and 2005 respectively, while the S-63 Marsopa and the S-64 Narval were launched in 1975. The former was retired in 2006 and the latter three years earlier, both for scrappage.

Between 1984 and 1988 the four boats underwent a complete overhaul and an updating of the weapons systems.

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