Navy Officer In Charge Of Nuclear Missiles Allegedly Arrives Drunk For Shift Carrying Bag Of Chicken

An officer in charge of the Royal Navy's HMS Vigilant submarine, which was docked in the U.S. Navy base in Georgia, was sent back to the U.K after he allegedly turned up drunk for duty.

Lieutenant Commander Len Louw, a weapons engineering officer onboard HMS Vigilant – currently docked in the U.S. Navy's Kings Bay base in Camden County, Georgia – was preparing to take part in a missile offloading exercise, when his colleagues realized he was not in the "fit state to be in charge of nuclear weapons," The Sun reported, citing an unspecified source, who added that the officer was carrying a bag of grilled chicken at the time.

The submarine was carrying 16 Trident ballistic missiles, reportedly weighing 60 tons each.

"The person he was taking over from realized something was seriously wrong. They had no choice but to alert the higher ups," the publication quoted the source as saying.

Following this, Louw was removed from the HMS Vigilant and was flown back to the vessel's original base in Faslane, Scotland, where he was facing an investigation.

HMS Vigilant is one of the U.K.'s four Vanguard-class submarines that carry Trident nuclear missile. On Oct. 14, at least 35 HMS Vigilant crew members tested positive for the coronavirus after sailors flouted orders to visit strip clubs, bars and restaurants in Georgia, according to the Daily Mail.

The submarine was dubbed as "HMS Sex and Cocaine" after nine servicemen were dismissed after they tested positive for cocaine in 2017. Its captain, Commander Stuart Armstrong, 41, and Sub-Lieutenant Rebecca Edwards, 25, were removed from duty over inappropriate sexual relationship the same year.