Hello everyone, welcome back again with us in another episode of Military TV.
Since the Second World War, the United States, Russia and China and a host of other nations
have lost vessels and their crews to accidents. Operating submarines is a risky business under
the best of circumstances and will likely remain so. Even the highest technology nuclear
submarines can end up on the ocean floor if the crew isn’t careful or the technology
fails. Here are some submarine accidents from 2000
to 2021. Let's check it out! At number 1, we have Kursk (K-141) from Russia.
The worst submarine disaster that happened in 2000 was Russia’s loss of K-141 Kursk,
which was a Project 949A Antey-class or (Oscar II) nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine.
The massive 16,000-ton submarine was destroyed in a massive explosion on August 12, 2000
which killed all 118 members of its crew. And Kursk was an Oscar-II class cruise missile
submarine commissioned into the Russian Navy in December 1994. In addition, Kursk was one
of the 30 vessels that took part in the “Summer-X” exercise. The submarine suffered an explosion
while preparing to fire dummy torpedoes during the exercise. The leakage of high-test peroxide
from one of the Type 65 torpedoes was believed to have caused the explosion.
The explosion completely destroyed the first three compartments. 23 of the 118 crew were
left alive in the ninth compartment when the submarine hit the seafloor but they died subsequently
due to lack of oxygen. After the Kursk disaster, the Russian Navy removed hydrogen peroxide-fuelled
torpedoes from service. #2. Changcheng 361 from China
The submarine hull number No. 361 named "The Great Wall" was one of the Ming class diesel-electric
submarines of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. In April 2003, all 70 men aboard the
sub perished by suffocation due to a lack of oxygen. It was one of China's worst peacetime
military disasters. The PLA Navy's Commander Shi Yunsheng and Political Commissar Yang
Huaiqing were both dismissed as a result of the accident. The submarine was conducting
exercises in the Yellow Sea between Korea and Shandong Province at the time of the incident.
Malfunction in the diesel engines which consumed the oxygen within the submarine caused the
suffocation. The crippled submarine remained afloat for
ten days as it was on a no-contact mission. The half-submerged Ming 361 was finally identified
by Chinese fishermen on 25 April 2003. The boat was towed from the accident location
to its homeport at Qingdao. #3. K-152 Nerpa from Russia
The Russian K-152 Nerpa suffered an accident when it was conducting an underwater test
run in the Pacific Ocean causing the death of 20 men of 208 aboard. The incident was
the worst Russian submarine disaster since the sinking of Kursk in 2000. And Nerpa is
an Akula-class nuclear-powered attack submarine. The accidental activation of fire-fighting
system released Freon gas into the air in the K-152 Nerpa. The members in the submarine
suffered from suffocation and could not activate breathing kits. The rest of the crew were
unaware of the situation until the warning sirens sounded after large amounts of gas
had been released into the submarine. Six crew and 14 civilian workers were killed and
21 people were injured. The casualties were transferred to a military hospital in Vladivostok.
Then, the submarine was delivered to India in December 2011 on a 10-year lease and is
currently operated under the name INS Chakra by the Indian Navy.
#4. Yono Class Submarine from North Korea The Yono-class submarine (also as Yugo class)
is a class of North Korean miniature submarines, produced for domestic use as well as for export.
These submarines displace 130 tons, significantly less than North Korea's larger 1,800-ton Romeo-class
submarines. As of March 2016, a North Korean submarine has gone missing at sea and is presumed
to have sunk, according to reports from the US and South Korea. The vessel had reportedly
been operating off the North Korean coast during the week when it disappeared.
American spy satellites, aircraft and ships had been watching as the North Korean navy
searched for the missing sub. The incident caused 8 crew lost. Nevertheless, North Koreans
have not made an attempt to indicate there is something wrong or that they require help
or some type of assistance. #5. ARA San Juan (S-42) from Argentina
ARA San Juan was a TR-1700-class diesel-electric submarine in service with the Submarine Force
of the Argentine Navy from 1986 to 2017. It was built in West Germany and entered service
on 19 November 1985, and it underwent a mid-life update from 2008 to 2013.
On 15 November 2017, San Juan with 44 servicemen on board went missing during a routine patrol
in the South Atlantic off the coast of Argentina, believed to have suffered an electrical malfunction,
and a multi-nation search operation was mounted. Within hours of San Juan's last transmission,
an acoustic anomaly consistent with an implosion was detected in the vicinity of the vessel's
last known location. On 30 November, the search and rescue operation was abandoned. However,
The Argentine Navy reported on 16 November 2018 that the wreck of San Juan had been found
at a depth of 907 meters, 460 kilometers southeast of Comodoro Rivadavia. The submarine's imploded
wreckage was strewn over an area of 8,000 square meters.
#6. Losharik (AS-31) from Russia Project AS-31 is a Russian deep-diving nuclear-powered
submarine. On 1 July 2019, a fire broke out on the vessel while it was taking underwater
measurements of the seafloor in Russian territorial waters. Losharik suffered a catastrophic fire
killing 14 crewmen, with 4 survivors. The submarine itself seems to have been not far
from its base and was towed back. The fire occurred at fairly shallow depths (at 300
meters), originating in the battery compartment of the submarine. The cause was a short circuit
in the electrical system. Supposedly Losharik was conducting bathymetric surveys in the
Barents. Most of the crew died from inhalation of noxious smoke attempting to save the submarine.
On 5 July, four members were posthumously awarded Hero of Russia while ten members were
posthumously awarded Order of Courage. And at number 7 is KRI Nanggala (402), the
submarine disaster that happened recently in Indonesia.
On Wednesday, April 21st, shocking news came from the island of Bali, in the form of news
that Nanggala-402 had lost contact during a joint training mission for the firing of
Indonesian Navy torpedoes and missiles. Three days later, on April 24, debris from the submarine
was found on the surface, and the Indonesian Navy declared Nanggala sunk. The next day,
scans positively identified the remains of Nanggala, and the loss of all 53 crew members
on board was confirmed. On April 25, Chief of Naval Staff, Yudo Margono,
explained that Nanggala-402 was detected by KRI Rigel, which was carrying out a multibeam
echosounder and was first detected at a depth of 800 meters. The search also assisted by
MV swift rescue from Singapore. That's the list of submarine accidents within
21 years. We hope Nanggala-402 will be the last tragedy of sub accidents around the globe.
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