A FORMER Soviet submarine should be brought to Southend and moored close to Southend Pier as a permanent tourist attraction on the seafront, councillors say.
Two decades ago plans were put forward to bring the U-475 Black Widow submarine to the city but the proposal fell through as the council struggled to find a permanent location.
The cold-war period submarine, dating back to the ‘60s, is used as a museum and visitors can tour inside the vessel while it is moored at Strood, on the River Medway.
Stephen Aylen (pictured inset), non-aligned councillor for Belfairs Ward believes the submarine would be a “wonderful tourist attraction” similar to Spanish warship the El Galeon which visited Southend Pier last year.
He has called on the council to re-open talks with the sub’s private owners and believes the Prince of Wales jetty, behind Adventure Island, is the perfect spot.
The sub also featured in 2014 submarine disaster thriller “Black Sea” starring Jude Law.
He said: “There was an intention of bringing the Black Widow submarine from the Medway to Southend Pier in 2004. The issue then was it could not be moored to the pier all the time. It was agreed that this would be a fantastic attraction and would be moored at the Prince of Wales jetty behind adventure island to the east of the pier.
“The council held talks with the submarine owners that were positive and it was announced in the press the submarine was coming to Southend. The speed boat company that had the lease on the prince of Wales jetty refused to cooperate and this stopped the submarine coming.”
Mr Aylen revealed the location is now up for grabs after the lease expired on the jetty. He added: “The intention is for the submarine to be a permanent fixture. The visitor numbers are known.
“It used to be at Thames Barrier, then it moved to Folkestone so all the information is known. It’s a very popular tourist attraction. You can go on it and see it as a Russian submarine inside. It’s an attraction that would bring people to Southend.
“The council wouldn’t be earning anything for the lease of the jetty but they aren’t earning anything from it now anyway. It’s a win-win for everybody.”
The Black Widow was built at Sudomekh shipyard in Leningrad and commissioned in 1967. It served with the Soviet Baltic Fleet before being used as a training vessel. It was decommissioned in 1993 and sold.
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