Major submarine incidents since 2000
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Since the year 2000, there have been nine major naval incidents involving submarines: three Russian submarine incidents, three incidents involving submarines from the United States, a Chinese incident, a Canadian incident, and an Australian incident.
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[edit] Kursk Disaster
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- Main article Russian submarine Kursk explosion
In August 2000, the Russian Oscar II class submarine (which is the world's largest class of cruise-missile submarine) Kursk sank in the Barents Sea when a leak of hydrogen peroxide in the forward torpedo room led to the detonation of a torpedo warhead which in turn triggered the explosion of around half a dozen other warheads about two minutes later. This second explosion was equivalent about 3-7 tons of TNT [1] and was large enough to register on seismographs across Northern Europe.[2] The explosion and the flooding by high pressure seawater killed the majority of the submarine's 118 sailors, but twenty-three survived in the stern of the submarine, and despite an international rescue effort, died several days later either from a flash fire or suffocated due to a lack of oxygen. The Russian Navy was severely criticized in their home country by family members of the deceased crew for failure to accept international help in a timely manner.
For further information see the main article Russian submarine Kursk.
[edit] USS Greeneville Collision
In the year 2001, the American submarine USS Greeneville accidentally struck and sank a Japanese high-school training ship, Ehime-Maru, killing nine Japanese aboard, including four students, 10 miles off the coast of O'ahu. The collision occurred while members of the public were on board the submarine observing an emergency surface drill.
A naval inquiry found that the accident was the result of poorly executed sonar sweeps, an ineffective periscope search by the submarine's captain, Commander Scott Waddle, bad communication among the crew and distractions caused by the presence of the 16 civilian guests aboard the submarine.
Though Cmdr. Waddle pledged to take full responsibility for the incident and was reprimanded, Navy officials decided against a court-martial and instead terminated his career. The Navy did let him otherwise retire honorably with his rank and pension intact. He did not travel to Japan to apologize to the victims' families at first because, citing his own words from a book titled The Right Thing (ISBN 1-59-145036-5) published in 2003:
- "One, the [Navy's] settlement process…would have been interrupted. It was decided while I was on active duty before I retired in October of 2001 that visiting Japan was not in the best interest. After I retired in October, it took me some time to find employment. I finally found employment in August and from that time, the resources were not available to get me to Japan. But at the earliest opportunity I did make that trip when I could…"
In his own book, printed by a religious publisher, CDR Waddle presented himself as an honorable Christian who chose to face the torment rather than committing suicide.[3]
However, despite the on-going legal litigation and liabilities involved, CDR Waddle did personally deliver 13 letters of apology to each of the nine families as well as Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and others via the Japanese Consulate in Honolulu.
Ironically, CDR Waddle was raised in Japan and is fluent in Japanese, and was thus particularly grieved by the results of his fatal mistakes.
[edit] USS Dolphin Major Flooding and Fire
In May 2002, the U.S. Navy research submarine USS Dolphin experienced severe flooding and fires off the coast of San Diego, California. The ship was abandoned by the crew and Navy civilian personnel, which were rescued by nearby naval vessels. No one was seriously injured. Although severely damaged, the ship was towed back to San Diego for overhaul.
[edit] HMAS Dechaineux flooding
On February 12, 2003, Collins class submarine HMAS Dechaineux of the Royal Australian Navy was flooded off the coast of Perth, Western Australia. Water flooded into the submarine's lower engine room after a seawater hose failed as the Dechaineux was at its deepest diving depth. 55 sailors were 20 seconds from sinking to the bottom of the ocean. However, Dechaineux crew members managed to stop the flood and rescue Seaman Geordie Bunting from the engine room.
The Royal Australian Navy responded to the crisis by ordering the fleet back to port and conducting exhaustive tests on the hose that failed, but was never able to find a fault with the hoses, which are still used.
[edit] Ming 361 Loss of All Personnel
In May 2003, China announced that the entire ship's crew (70 people) had been killed aboard Ming 361 due to a mechanical malfunction. The accident took place off the coast of Liaoning province in northeast China. The vessel was recovered and towed to an unidentified port. The cause of the accident is not known, but it is believed that the crew suffocated due to malfunctioning diesel engines, which consumed all the oxygen present in the interior of the submarine.
[edit] K-159 Sinking
In August 2003, the Russian November class submarine K-159 sank in the Barents Sea. The submarine had been decommissioned, and was in the process of being towed for scrapping. Of the skeleton crew of ten aboard the submarine, nine perished in the cold waters of the Barents Sea.
[edit] USS Hartford grounding
On 25 October 2003, the Los Angeles class submarine, USS Hartford ran aground in the harbor of La Maddalena, Sardinia causing approximately US$9million worth of damage to the submarine.
[edit] HMCS Chicoutimi Fire
On October 5, 2004, the Canadian submarine HMCS Chicoutimi suffered two fires after leaving Faslane for Canada. One crewmember, Lieutenant Chris Saunders, died the following day while being transported to Ireland via helicopter. Investigations concluded that poor insulating of power cables caused the fires.
The Board of Enquiry found that the fire was caused by a series of events that lead to electric arcing at cable joints because of sea water penetrating the joints. http://www.vcds.forces.gc.ca/boi_chicoutimi/pubs/part2-cause-fires_e.asp
[edit] USS San Francisco Grounding
On January 8, 2005, the Los Angeles class submarine, USS San Francisco collided virtually head-on with an undersea mountain 350 miles south of Guam. Machinist Mate 2nd Class Joseph Allen Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio, died of injuries suffered in the accident, which occurred when the submarine was on a high speed run to Brisbane, Australia. Several news websites stated that the submarine hit an 'Uncharted Sea Mount' at speed. CDR Kevin Mooney was later relieved of command after an investigation revealed that the ship was using inadequate voyage planning techniques. The submarine experienced a rapid deceleration from approximately 35 knots, causing everything not attached to the submarine to go flying forwards and a section of the bow to cave in. Around 60 other sailors were also injured in the accident, some seriously. Temporary repairs were completed, and the submarine transited to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for permanent repairs by way of replacing the ship's forward compartment.
[edit] The AS-28 Emergency
On August 5, 2005 the Russian Priz class AS-28 Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle on a military mission (likely, anti-submarine sensor placement) off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Berezovaya Bay, 70 km southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka Oblast became entangled by a fishing net, or possibly by cables belonging to an underwater antenna assembly. The submarine was trapped and sank to the seafloor at a depth of 190 m (600 ft), too deep for the crew to escape the submarine and swim to the surface. The Russian Navy requested assistance after a distraught wife of one of the crewmembers covertly revealed the emergency to a local radio station. Japan sent four ships with rescue equipment. Britain and the United States both airlifted unmanned Scorpio vessels to the scene. The British Scorpio 45 from the Royal Navy was first on the scene and was able to cut the entangling debris, releasing the submarine, which then made its way to the surface, having nearly exhausted its air supply. All 7 crew members were rescued safely.
