A highly respected nuclear industry engineer has been left “speechless” after being told a radiation-proof remote vehicle is being rebranded in his honour.
Barry Vernon, the long-serving Technical Manager at Rovtech, was informed this week that the N17 ROV (remotely operated vehicle) will now be known as the “VERNON”.
The 65-year-old, who has been working with ROVs in the nuclear industry for almost four decades, was the lead designer behind the innovative N17 ROV, which works in extreme conditions, safely moving high-radiation fuel rods at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, amongst others.
Rovtech CEO John Polson said Mr Vernon is widely known as the “go to” technical authority for anyone requiring a bespoke solution to a challenging problem in the subsea nuclear environment.
“Everyone knows Barry. He is the guy the nuclear companies go to when they have got a problem they don’t know how to solve,” he said.
“We are very lucky to be able to call on Barry’s vast expertise and experience.”
With bases in Cumbria and Aberdeen, Rovtech is a specialist engineering company focused on the design and manufacture of robotics, tooling and equipment for the world's most challenging conditions.
Mr Vernon had been one of three employees who led a management buyout of the firm in 2017, and it was later acquired by Ventex, a climate tech venture studio focused on repurposing proven supply chain capability for renewable energy markets.
Mr Polson said Rovtech had been keen to recognise Mr Vernon’s outstanding contribution to the company and the wider industry.
It was agreed that a fitting tribute would be to rename the N17 ROV after its designer.
Barry Vernon, the long-serving Technical Manager at Rovtech with John Polson, CEO.
Mr Polson added: “Barry has given so much to Rovtech - his time and effort in growing the business, but also a clear passion for innovation and everything subsea nuclear.
“This recognition is very much a tip of our hat to him and all his hard work. He has been a massive part of Rovtech’s journey.
“The name ‘N17’ doesn’t mean a lot other than letters and numbers. But Barry Vernon means a lot to Rovtech and our clients.”
Mr Vernon was informed of the honour by Mr Polson and representatives of the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) at Engineering & Technology Solutions Exhibition 2025.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Vernon said: “I was speechless when they told me they were renaming the N17 after me. I was stunned and felt quite humbled, to be honest.”
Mr Vernon’s career in the nuclear industry started when he was just 16 years old, as an apprentice instrument mechanic, and he was soon working at Sellafield.
He later joined a small company in Barrow-in-Furness and was sent to Brazil, aged 21, before returning to the UK, the nuclear industry and Sellafield in 1989.
“I’ve been doing it now for 36 or 37 years, since coming back,” Mr Vernon said.
“I’m still quite happy with what I do. I’m enjoying it. All things technical, that’s what I like to do.”
The Engineering & Technology Solutions Exhibition 2025 event on Wednesday was organised by a company called Nu-Tech.
During the preparations for the event, it emerged that Nu-Tech’s Managing Director Lisa Jones-Taylor had a family connection to Mr Vernon.
When her father founded Nu-Tech in the 1990s, its initial clients included Harsh Environment Solutions and Rovtech, both of which involved Mr Vernon at the time.
Mr Polson said: “When we realised the connection – that Barry had even played a role in the early days of the company running the event – it felt very apt. It was a full circle moment.”
Sellafield Ltd, located on the West Cumbrian coast, employs approximately 11,000 staff.
The site has been operational since the 1940s and led the development of the UK’s nuclear industry, from the production of plutonium for the country’s nuclear deterrent programme, through to the development of nuclear power generation.
The focus of Sellafield Ltd is now on the remediation and clean-up of the hundreds of nuclear and non-nuclear facilities across the site, as well as the safe and secure storage of special nuclear materials, and the safe retrieval of nuclear waste from the legacy ponds and silos, for storage in modern facilities.
Work in these ponds require the use of subsea ROVs, such as the “VERNON”.