For around 400 years Chatham was one of the Royal Navy’s principal dockyards, building and refitting warships on the Medway until it closed on 30 March 1984, and in its final decades its most demanding work was refitting nuclear submarines. Shipwrights, laggers, boilermakers, electricians and apprentices worked for decades in engine rooms, boiler rooms and submarine hulls thick with asbestos lagging, and many also worked for years under noise levels that damaged their hearing. Mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural thickening, asbestos-related lung cancer and noise-induced hearing loss can all follow, often appearing decades after someone last set foot in the yard. Medway has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma deaths in the country, and former Chatham dockyard workers, or their families, can still bring an asbestos claim today. WE Solicitors has handled asbestos and industrial disease claims for workers across England since 2001.
Chatham Dockyard traces its naval origins to the mid-sixteenth century and, according to Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, operated for close to 400 years, building or refitting more than 500 vessels for the Royal Navy. On 25 June 1981 the then Defence Secretary, Sir John Nott, announced its closure to the House of Commons, and a three-year rundown followed before the naval base finally closed on 30 March 1984. At its wartime peak the dockyard employed over 17,000 people across more than 26 trades, and it still employed around 6,500 civilian workers when it closed. In its final decades the yard took on the refitting of nuclear submarines, the most technically demanding work it ever did, and that work continued right up to closure. The 18th-century core of the site later passed to the charity Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, which now operates it as a working museum.
Why are Chatham Dockyard workers at risk of asbestos disease?
Because asbestos was used throughout the ships and submarines that passed through the yard, not just in one trade or one building. It was sprayed and packed as lagging around boilers, steam pipes, turbines and bulkheads to insulate against heat and fire, woven into protective blankets and gaskets, and fitted into deckheads and machinery spaces. Anyone working in or near an engine room, boiler room or submarine compartment during construction, refit or repair could breathe in the dust, and so could people working nearby when old lagging was stripped out or new lagging was cut and fitted. Chatham dockyard asbestos exposure was not confined to a single decade: it ran from the yard’s peak wartime output through to the nuclear submarine refits of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, right up to closure.
- Laggers and their labourers, who mixed, applied and stripped asbestos lagging on boilers, pipework and machinery, often in confined spaces with little or no ventilation.
- Boilermakers and platers, working in and around boiler rooms and engine spaces where lagging and heat-proof cladding was thickest.
- Shipwrights and fitters, carrying out structural and mechanical work throughout the ship or submarine while lagging work went on around them.
- Electricians and pipefitters, running cable and pipework through the same compartments and bulkheads that laggers had recently insulated.
- Apprentices and dockyard boys, frequently sent to fetch materials or work alongside tradesmen in the dustiest parts of the yard with no idea of the danger.
- Royal Navy personnel serving aboard ship during refits, who lived and worked in the same asbestos-laden compartments as the civilian tradesmen.
Industrial diseases linked to Chatham Dockyard and other naval shipyards
| Condition | What it is | Typically appears | Claimable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesothelioma | Cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen, caused almost exclusively by asbestos | Decades after exposure | Yes, prioritised by the courts; a payment scheme exists if no insurer can be found |
| Asbestosis | Scarring of the lung tissue from heavy asbestos exposure, causing breathlessness | Decades after exposure | Yes, plus a possible 1979 Act lump sum |
| Pleural thickening | Scarring of the lining of the lung that restricts breathing | Decades after exposure | Yes, where it causes disability |
| Asbestos-related lung cancer | Lung cancer where asbestos exposure was a contributing cause, with or without smoking | Decades after exposure | Yes |
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How common is mesothelioma in Medway and Kent?
Higher than in most of the country. HSE’s most recent Asbestos-related disease statistics for Great Britain, published in July 2026, record 2,146 mesothelioma deaths across Great Britain in 2024, and state that asbestos-related disease as a whole still causes over 5,000 deaths a year. HSE also publishes mesothelioma deaths by local authority area. Its July 2026 analysis records 527 male mesothelioma deaths among Medway residents between 1981 and 2024, with a standardised mortality ratio of 228.8, the sixth highest of any local authority area in Great Britain; among women there were 81 deaths and a ratio of 189.4, the ninth highest. A standardised mortality ratio compares an area’s death rate with Great Britain as a whole after adjusting for age, with 100 meaning the national average, so Medway men have died of mesothelioma at more than twice the national rate. Barrow-in-Furness and Plymouth, both shipbuilding and naval towns, sit higher still. That pattern is consistent with what HSE says nationally: local authority areas with the highest mesothelioma rates tend to be those with a history of shipbuilding, ship repair and asbestos product manufacture. For a place the size of Medway, a toll of that scale points squarely at one employer above all others: the dockyard. Asbestos claims in Medway and industrial disease claims in Chatham today are, overwhelmingly, claims rooted in that history.
“Chatham built and refitted some of the Royal Navy’s most demanding vessels, right through to nuclear submarines, and a lot of that work happened in boiler rooms, engine spaces and submarine compartments thick with asbestos dust. The dockyard has been closed for over forty years, but mesothelioma and asbestosis are still being diagnosed in people who worked there, and in some cases in people who never worked there at all but washed a husband’s or father’s overalls. It costs nothing to find out whether you or a family member has a claim, and we would encourage anyone from Medway with a diagnosis, or even a worry, to get in touch.”
Did work at Chatham Dockyard also cause hearing loss?
For many workers, yes, alongside the asbestos risk. Shipbuilding and ship repair involved riveting, chipping, grinding, boiler work and machinery running in large steel and stone-built sheds where noise reflected and built up rather than dispersing, and HSE estimates that around 15,000 workers a year in Great Britain still report work-related hearing problems. Employers have owed a general duty to protect workers’ health under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and the Ministry of Labour’s 1963 booklet Noise and the Worker is usually treated as the point from which employers should have known about the risk of noise-induced hearing loss. The Noise at Work Regulations 1989, later replaced by the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (lower exposure action value 80 dB(A), upper exposure action value 85 dB(A)), then set specific legal limits. A dockyard tradesman working through riveting, chipping and boiler shops for years before those regulations tightened could easily have been exposed well above safe levels. You can read more about the medical picture on our permanent noise-related hearing loss page and our hearing loss FAQs, or on our sister site hearinglossadvice.co.uk.
Chatham Dockyard: roles and their typical exposure
| Trade or role | Typical area of work | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Lagger or lagger’s mate | Boiler rooms, engine rooms, pipe runs | Heaviest asbestos exposure |
| Boilermaker or plater | Boiler rooms and engine spaces | Asbestos, plus riveting and chipping noise |
| Shipwright or fitter | Throughout the hull, alongside lagging work | Asbestos dust disturbed by nearby trades |
| Electrician or pipefitter | Bulkheads and compartments recently lagged | Asbestos dust from surrounding materials |
| Apprentice or dockyard boy | Wherever sent, often the dustiest areas | Asbestos, with little protection or training |
| Submarine refit crews, 1960s to 1984 | Confined submarine compartments | Asbestos in an especially enclosed environment |
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Can Chatham Dockyard workers claim compensation from the Ministry of Defence?
Yes. Chatham was a Royal Naval dockyard, and its civilian shipwrights, laggers, boilermakers, electricians and apprentices were employed directly by the Crown, latterly the Ministry of Defence, rather than by a private shipyard owner. Where a civilian dockyard worker was negligently exposed to asbestos, a personal injury claim is brought against the Ministry of Defence as the former employer, and the Ministry deals with these claims through its own compensation arrangements. That is a slightly different route from claims against a private employer that has since dissolved: because the Ministry of Defence still exists as an organisation, there is usually no need to trace a specific historic insurer through the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office or to have a dissolved company restored to the register, although the same rules on negligence, exposure and diagnosis still apply. Serving military personnel are in a different legal position for exposure that happened purely during armed forces service before 1987, but that restriction does not apply to civilian dockyard workers, whose claims have always been able to proceed as ordinary civil claims. Chatham dockyard workers’ compensation claims can also cover pension-linked benefits such as Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit and, for some conditions, a Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 lump sum, alongside any civil claim.
How long do I have to make an asbestos claim?
Usually three years, but the clock does not start at exposure. Under sections 11 and 14 of the Limitation Act 1980, the three years run from your date of knowledge, meaning the date you were diagnosed, or the date you first knew, or reasonably ought to have known, that a condition was linked to work at the dockyard. For a fatal claim brought by a family, the three years run from the date of death, or from when the family learned of the asbestos connection if that came later. This is why people who left Chatham Dockyard when it closed in 1984, and were only diagnosed decades later, are not too late: the diagnosis is usually what starts time running, not the exposure itself. Where a person diagnosed with mesothelioma cannot identify a specific employer or insurer at all, the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme created by the Mesothelioma Act 2014 can make a payment to people first diagnosed on or after 25 July 2012, though this is unlikely to be the relevant route for former dockyard workers, whose employer is identifiable as the Ministry of Defence.
Frequently asked questions
What is mesothelioma and how is it linked to Chatham Dockyard?
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen caused almost exclusively by inhaling asbestos fibres. Chatham Dockyard used large quantities of asbestos lagging on ships and submarines for around a century, and Medway now has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma deaths of any local authority area in Great Britain.
Which jobs at Chatham Dockyard carried the highest asbestos risk?
Laggers and their labourers faced the heaviest exposure because they mixed, applied and stripped asbestos insulation directly, but boilermakers, shipwrights, electricians, apprentices and Royal Navy personnel working nearby in engine rooms, boiler rooms and submarine compartments were also regularly exposed to asbestos dust.
How long after leaving Chatham Dockyard can mesothelioma or asbestosis appear?
Typically decades. Asbestos diseases usually take between 20 and 50 years to develop after exposure, so someone who last worked at the dockyard before it closed in 1984 could still be diagnosed for the first time today.
Can I still claim compensation from the Ministry of Defence even though Chatham Dockyard closed in 1984?
Yes. The dockyard’s closure does not affect a claim, because the employer for civilian workers, the Ministry of Defence, still exists. A claim can be brought for negligent exposure that happened at any point during your time working there, provided you bring it within the time limit that applies to your date of knowledge.
What if the person who worked at the dockyard has since died?
The estate, or the family as dependants, can bring a claim within three years of the death, or of the date the family learned that an asbestos-related illness caused it. We regularly help families piece together a relative’s work history from documents, memory and former colleagues years after the event.
Is there a time limit for making an asbestos claim in Medway?
Yes, usually three years from your date of knowledge under the Limitation Act 1980, not three years from when you were exposed. For most people that means three years from diagnosis, so a diagnosis received this year can still support a claim even if the exposure happened in the 1970s.
Did dockyard work also cause hearing loss, and can I claim for that too?
Many former dockyard workers have both an asbestos-related condition and noise-induced hearing loss from riveting, chipping and boiler work, and the two can be claimed separately or together. If your employer failed to protect your hearing and you can show a work history of noise exposure, a hearing loss claim is possible alongside, or instead of, an asbestos claim.
How much does it cost to make a claim, and how long does it take?
Nothing to start. WE Solicitors acts on a no win, no fee basis, so there is no upfront cost and nothing to pay if a claim does not succeed. Mesothelioma claims are prioritised by the courts and can move quickly once evidence of your work history is available; other asbestos and hearing loss claims typically take longer while medical evidence is gathered.
Speak to a specialist mesothelioma solicitor in Medway and Kent
Whether you worked as a lagger, boilermaker, shipwright, electrician or apprentice at Chatham Dockyard, served aboard a ship or submarine during a refit, or are the family member of someone who did, WE Solicitors can tell you quickly and honestly where you stand. We are members of APIL and have handled asbestos disease claims and hearing loss claims for clients across England since 2001, including mesothelioma claims against the Ministry of Defence and other public and private employers. Our how much is your claim worth page explains how compensation is assessed, and our cases settled page shows the kinds of outcomes we achieve for clients.
WE Solicitors LLP is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA number 445359. We are members of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association.
Sources
The figures and legal references on this page come from the following authorities, checked at the time of publication.
- Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, Our 40 year history (closure announced 25 June 1981, closed 30 March 1984, workforce at closure and at wartime peak). https://thedockyard.co.uk/our-40-year-history/
- HSE, Mesothelioma deaths by geographical area, Great Britain 2026: deaths and standardised mortality ratios for local and unitary authority areas, 1981 to 2024 (July 2026). https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/assets/docs/mesoarea.pdf
- Clydeside Action on Asbestos, Asbestos-related disease compensation and the armed forces (civilian MOD employees’ entitlement to civil claims, distinct from serving forces personnel). https://www.clydesideactiononasbestos.org.uk/compensation-and-benefits/asbestos-related-disease-compensation-and-the-armed-forces
- HSE, Asbestos-related disease statistics, Great Britain 2026 (July 2026): 2,146 mesothelioma deaths in 2024, over 5,000 asbestos-related deaths a year. https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/assets/docs/asbestos-related-disease.pdf
- HSE, Work-related ill health overview statistics (11,000 lung disease deaths a year linked to past work exposure, of which around 20 percent are mesothelioma). https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/overview.htm
- HSE, Noise induced hearing loss statistics in Great Britain (around 15,000 workers a year with work-related hearing problems). https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/deafness/index.htm
- Limitation Act 1980, section 11: special time limit for personal injury actions. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58/section/11
- Mesothelioma Act 2014, section 2: eligible people with diffuse mesothelioma and the 25 July 2012 diagnosis cutoff. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/1/section/2
- The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4: exposure limit values and action values. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1643/regulation/4
- Crown Proceedings Act 1947, section 10: the historic immunity, which applied only to members of the armed forces. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/10-11/44/section/10
- Crown Proceedings (Armed Forces) Act 1987. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/25/contents
