Yeah things like these need to be sorted out ASAP....
Does not matter, accidents should be avoided in any sensitive military installation....
human based error are unavoidable In Nature Its happens thought the world in the navy,s
.Eight
nuclear submarines have sunk as a consequence of either accident or extensive damage: two from the
United States Navy, four from the
Soviet Navy, and two from the
Russian Navy. Only three were lost with all hands: two from the United States Navy and one from the Russian Navy. All sank as a result of accident with the exception of
K-27, which was scuttled in the
Kara Sea when repair was deemed impossible and decommissioning too expensive.
Since the year 2000, there have been twenty-seven major naval incidents involving
submarines from: ten
American submarines, six
Russian, five
British, two
Canadian, one
Chinese, one
Indian, one
Australian, and one
French.
Kursk explosion
:
Kursk submarine disaster
In August 2000, the Russian
Oscar II class submarine (which was 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 to 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. Twenty-three survived in the
stern of the submarine, but despite an international rescue effort, they died several days later either from a flash fire or
suffocation due to a lack of
oxygen. The Russian Navy was severely criticized in its home country by family members of the deceased crew for failure to accept international help in a timely manner.
2001
Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision[edit]
Main article:
Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision
Greeneville in drydock at Pearl Harbor on February 21, 2001 after hitting and sinking
Ehime Maru.
On February 9, 2001, the American submarine
USS Greeneville accidentally struck and sank a Japanese high-school fisheries training ship,
Ehime-Maru, killing nine of the 35
Japanese aboard, including four students, 10 miles (16 km) off the coast of
Oahu. 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.
The Navy and the command of
Greeneville have been criticized for making no immediate attempt to help the Japanese on
Ehime Maru that survived the initial collision. Weather conditions that were producing 8- to 12-foot waves and the submarine's incomplete (bobbing) surfaced condition were cited as reasons for the submarine captain's choosing to stand off and remain close by. While the U.S. Coast Guard directly responded, survivors resorted to automatically deployed life rafts from
Ehime Maru.
2002
USS Dolphin major flooding and fire[edit]
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, who were rescued by nearby naval vessels. No one was seriously injured. Although severely damaged, the boat was towed back to San Diego for overhaul.
USS Oklahoma City collision with tanker[edit]
On 13 November 2002, the
USS Oklahoma City collided with the Leif Hoegh
liquefied natural gas tanker Norman Lady, east of the Strait of Gibraltar. No one on either vessel was hurt, and there were no leaks of oil from fuel tanks and no threat to the environment, but the submarine sustained damage to her periscope and sail area, and put into La Maddalena, Sardinia, for repairs. Her commanding officer, Commander Richard Voter, was relieved of his command on 30 November. One other officer and two enlisted crew members also were disciplined for dereliction of duty.
HMS Trafalgar[edit]
In November 2002, the
Royal Navy's
Trafalgar-class submarine,
HMS Trafalgar ran aground close to Skye, causing £5 million worth of damage to her hull and injuring three sailors. It was travelling 50 metres below the surface at more than 14 knots (26 km/h) when Lieutenant-Commander Tim Green, a student in
The Perisher course for new submarine commanders, ordered a course change that took her onto the rocks at
Fladda-chùain, a small but well-charted islet.
A report issued in May 2008, stated that tracing paper (used to protect navigational charts) had obscured vital data during a training exercise. Furthermore, the officer in charge of the training exercise had not been tracking the submarine's position using all the available equipment. Commanders Robert Fancy and Ian McGhie were
court martialled and reprimanded over the incident.
[3]
2003
HMAS Dechaineux flooding
On 12 February 2003,
HMAS Dechaineux, a
Collins-class submarine of the
Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was operating near her maximum safe diving depth off the coast of
Western Australia when a seawater pipe burst.
[4] The high-pressure seawater flooded the lower engine room before the hose was sealed off. It was estimated that if the inflow had continued for another twenty seconds, the weight of the water would have prevented
Dechaineux from returning to the surface.
[4] The Navy recalled all of the
Collins-class submarines to the submarine base
HMAS Stirling after this potentially catastrophic event, and after naval engineers were unable to find any flaws in the pipes that could have caused the burst, they commanded that the maximum safe depth of these submarines be reduced.
[4]
Ming 361 sinking
In May 2003, China announced that the entire ship's crew (70 people) had been killed aboard Ming-class submarine 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.
K-159 sinking
In August 2003, the
Russian November class submarine K-159 sank in the
Barents Sea. This submarine had been decommissioned, and she was being towed away for scrapping. Of her
skeleton crew of ten sailors, nine were killed.
USS Hartford grounding
Main article:
USS Hartford grounding
On 25 October 2003, the
American Los Angeles-class submarine USS Hartford ran aground in the harbor of
La Maddalena,
Sardinia, in the
Mediterranean Sea. This grounding caused about nine million dollars worth of damage to
Hartford.
2004
Bugaled Breiz sinking
On 15 January 2004, the
fishing trawler Bugaled Breiz sank with all hands for unknown reasons. One of the possible scenarios is that an unidentified submarine got caught in its net during a NATO exercise.
[5]
HMCS Chicoutimi fire
On 5 October 2004, the
Canadian submarine
HMCS Chicoutimi suffered from two fires after leaving
Faslane harbor for
Halifax harbor. One officer,
Canadian Forces Lieutenant Chris Saunders, died the following day while he was being flown via helicopter to a hospital in
Ireland. Canadian Forces investigators concluded that poor
insulation of some power cables caused the fires. The following board of enquiry found that the fire was caused by a series of events that caused electrical
arcing at cable joints from
seawater penetration at the joints.
[6]
2005
USS San Francisco collision with undersea terrain[edit]
On January 8, 2005, the
Los Angeles-class submarine USS San Francisco, while underway and submerged, collided with an undersea
seamount about 350 miles (560 km) south of
Guam in the
Marianas Islands. One of her sailors,
Machinist mate 2nd Class Joseph Allen Ashley, of
Akron, Ohio, died from the injuries he suffered in the collision. This happened while
San Francisco was on a high-speed voyage to visit
Brisbane, Australia.
About 60 more of her sailors were also injured in this accident, some with broken bones. The collision with the seamount was so severe that
San Francisco was nearly sunk. Accounts from the scene related a desperate struggle for positive buoyancy after her forward
ballast tanks had been ruptured. Several news web sites stated that the boat had hit an "uncharted sea mount" at a high speed. The captain of the submarine,
Commander Kevin Mooney, was later relieved of his command after an investigation revealed that he had been using inadequate methods of ocean voyage planning.
San Francisco underwent a rapid deceleration from more than 25 knots (46 km/h) to a standstill, causing a section of her bow to collapse (including her
sonar system) and everything not tied down to fly forward in the boat.
San Francisco returned to her base at Guam, where emergency repairs were carried out. Next, she steamed to the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for more permanent repairs. The bow section of
San Francisco has been replaced with that of her sister ship,
USS Honolulu, which had already been removed from service because of years of wear and tear.
[7][8] This replacement of the bow of
San Francisco has been successful, and she has returned to active service in the Pacific Fleet, based at
San Diego.
AS-28 emergency
Main article:
AS-28
On 5 August 2005, the Russian
Priz-class deep-submergence rescue vehicle AS-28 while operating off the coast of the
Kamchatka Peninsula became entangled in a fishing net, or possibly by cables belonging to an underwater antenna assembly, at a depth of 190 meters (600 ft). Unable to free itself, the submarine was stuck with a depleting airsupply.
After a multi-national effort, a Royal Navy team using a
Scorpio ROV was able to free the submarine from the entanglement, allowing it to return to the surface. All seven crew members were rescued safely.
USS Philadelphia collision with MV Yasa Aysen
On 5 September 2005, the
USS Philadelphia was in the
Persian Gulf about 30 nautical miles (60 km) northeast of
Bahrain when she collided with the
Turkish merchant ship MV
Yasa Aysen. No injuries were reported on either vessel. The damage to the submarine was described as "superficial." The Turkish ship suffered minor damage to its hull just above her waterline, but the
United States Coast Guard inspected the ship and found her to be still seaworthy. The commanding officer of
Philadelphia,
Commander Steven M. Oxholm, was relieved of his command following this collision.
2006
Daniil Moskovsky fire
On September 6, 2006 the Russian
Victor-3 class submarine Daniil Moskovsky suffered a fire which resulted in the deaths of two crewmen (a
warrant officer and a
sailor). At the time of the incident the submarine was anchored off the Rybachiy peninsula, on Russia's north coast near the border with Norway. The fire was extinguished with no damage to the reactor (which had been
scrammed as a precaution) and the submarine was towed to a base at
Vidyayevo. The incident was reported as being caused by an electrical fire in the vessel's wiring.
[9]
The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul incident
Four crew members were washed overboard from the
USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul by heavy waves on 29 December 2006 in
Plymouth Sound,
England. This resulted in the deaths of Senior Chief Thomas Higgins (
chief of the boat) and Sonar Technician 2nd Class Michael Holtz. After the preliminary investigation,
Commander Edwin Ruff received a punitive
letter of reprimand, stating that the accident was avoidable, and he was reassigned to a shore-based post in Norfolk, Virginia.
2007
USS Newport News collision with Japanese tanker Mogamigawa
On January 8, 2007,
USS Newport News was transiting submerged in the
Straits of Hormuz when it hit the Japanese tanker
Mogamigawa.
[10] It had been operating as part of Carrier Strike Group 8 (CSG-8), organized around the
aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower[11] and dispatched to the
Indian Ocean to help support operations in
Somalia.
HMS Tireless
On March 21, 2007 two crew members of the
Royal Navy's
Trafalgar-class submarine,
HMS Tireless were killed in an explosion caused by air-purification equipment in the forward section of the submarine. The submarine was in service in the
Arctic Ocean and had to make an emergency surface through the
pack ice. A third crewmember who suffered "non life-threatening" injuries was airlifted to a military hospital at
Elmendorf Air Force Base near
Anchorage, Alaska. According to the Royal Navy, the accident did not affect the ship's nuclear reactor, and the ship sustained only superficial damage.[
citation needed]
2008
HMS Superb[edit]
On 26 May 2008, the
Royal Navy's
Swiftsure-class submarine,
HMS Superb hit an underwater rock pinnacle in the northern Red Sea, 80 miles (130 km) south of Suez, causing damage to sonar equipment.[
citation needed]
Russian K-152 Nerpa gas leak
Main article:
2008 Russian submarine accident
On 8 November 2008, at least 20 men died of asphyxiation from a gas leak on board the Russian nuclear submarine
K-152 Nerpa, during trials in the Sea of Japan.
[12] The submarine was leased to the Indian Navy in 2011 and was formally commissioned into service as INS
Chakra in 2012.
2009[edit]
HMS Vanguard and Triomphant collision
Main article:
HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant submarine collision
The
nuclear submarines, the
Royal Navy's
HMS Vanguard and the
French Navy's
Triomphant, were involved in a collision in February 2009. They were operating in the
Atlantic Ocean at the time. No injuries or radiation leaks were reported.
[13]
USS Hartford and USS New Orleans collision
Main article:
USS Hartford and USS New Orleans collision
USS Hartford collided with
USS New Orleans on 20 March 2009 in the Strait of Hormuz.
[14]
2010[edit]
INS Sindhurakshak fire
In February 2010, a faulty battery valve that leaked hydrogen gas resulted
in a fire which caused an explosion in
INS Sindhurakshak's battery compartment, killing one and injuring two sailors.
INS Shankush incident
On 30 August 2010,
INS Shankush, a
Type 209 class submarine of the
Indian Navy developed a technical snag while on a planned exercise off
Mumbai. While effecting repairs, the submarine's maintenance team was washed overboard due to rough sea state. A team of five officers and sailors, led by the submarine's Executive Officer (XO) Lt Cdr Firdaus D Moghal successfully recovered all members of the crew. However the officer himself was washed overboard subsequently in rough sea conditions and sustained heavy injuries on his forehead. He was rescued by a helicopter dispatched from Naval Air Station
INS Shikra but succumbed to his injuries en route to shore.
[15]
HMS Astute grounding
On October 22, 2010,
HMS Astute ran aground on a sand bank off the coast of the
Isle of Skye in
Scotland.
[16]
2011
HMCS Corner Brook grounding
HMCS Corner Brook (formerly HMS
Ursula) ran aground in Nootka Sound off the coast of Vancouver Island on June 4, 2011, while conducting SOCT. Minor injuries were sustained by two crew members and the submarine returned to CFB Esquimalt after the incident without escort or further incident.
[17] A board of inquiry into the incident deemed commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Paul Sutherland, had responsibility for safe navigation of the submarine and was relieved of his command.
2012
USS Montpelier collision with USS San Jacinto
USS Montpelier and the Aegis cruiser USS
San Jacinto collided off the coast of north-eastern Florida on 13 October 2012 during an exercise while the submarine was submerged at periscope depth. There were no injuries aboard either ship. The initial assessment of damage was that there was a complete de-pressurization of the sonar dome aboard
San Jacinto. The investigation revealed that the principal cause of the collision was human error, poor teamwork by
Montpelier watch team, and the commanding officer's failure to follow established procedures for submarines operating at periscope depth. Additionally, the investigation revealed contributing factors threaded among the various command and control headquarters that provide training and operational oversight within Fleet Forces Command
[18]
2013
INS Sindhurakshak explosion and sinking
On 14 August 2013, the
Indian Navy's
INS Sindhurakshak Kilo-class Type 636 submarine sank after explosions caused by a fire took place on board when the submarine was berthed at
Mumbai. The fire, followed by a series of ordnance blasts on the armed submarine, occurred shortly after midnight. The fire was put out within two hours. It is unclear exactly what caused the fire. Due to damage from the explosions, the submarine sank at its
berth with only a portion visible above the water surface.
[19][20][21] Sailors on board reportedly jumped off to safety. Navy divers were also brought in as there was a possibility that 18 personnel were trapped inside. India's defence minister confirmed that there were fatalities.
[22]
Due to the explosion, the front section of the submarine was twisted, bent and crumpled, and water had entered the forward compartment. Another submarine,
INS Sindhuratna, also sustained minor damage when the fire on
Sindhurakshak caused its torpedoes to explode.
[20][23] Defence minister
A. K. Antony briefed the Prime Minister
Manmohan Singhon the submarine incident, and would leave for Mumbai to visit the accident site.
[24][25]
Official sources said it was "highly unlikely" the submarine could be returned to service.
[26]
Russian K-150 Tomsk fire
On 16 September 2013, fifteen seamen were hospitalized after a fire. The fire started during welding activity, as the sub was being repaired at the
Zvezda shipyard near
Vladivostokon the
Sea of Japan. The fire was put out after five hours. A federal Investigative Committee said the fire had "caused damage to the health of 15 servicemen" and they remained in hospital. It gave no details about their condition.