Russian Submarine Tragedy

The Russian navy has experienced a terrible tragedy onboard one of their newest submarines, an Akula II class submarine in the Sea of Japan. According to news reports an automatic fire extinguishing system malfunctioned, dispensing Freon gas into a compartment killing 20 personal (sailors and shipyard workers) and injuring 21 others. When a tragedy like this happens, we need to look at the past to see why this occurred and learn from our mistakes. We also need to acknowledge that submarines are a very dangerous place and these brave sailors are always putting their lives at risk in order to keep their homeland safe.

The United States is not without their submarine tragedies. In the 1960's the US suffered the loss of the USS Scorpion (most likely due to a hot run from a torpedo) and the Loss of the USS Thresher (due to condensation build up in the high pressure blow system). In the 1980s the US almost lost the USS Bonefish (an old Diesel boat that had a battery fire, very dangerous and I had friends on the boat). There was the USS Greenville that hit and sunk a Japanese training boat off of Hawaii. There was also the USS Ashville that hit an underwater sea mount and killed a young sailor. It was a miracle that the US didn't lose the USS Ashville, these submarine sailors kept the sub afloat even though the forward ballast tanks could not hold air.

The Russian navy has experienced their submarine tragedies. In the mid 1980s a Yankee class submarine had a missile explosion off the coast of North Carolina and sunk while being towed back to Russia. The Oscar II class submarine sunk in the Barents Sea while doing naval exercises, killing everyone onboard. And recently the Akula II class mishap in the Sea of Japan.

A submarine is a very dangerous place. This danger is not from the Nuclear reactor either. The danger is from the very nature of what a submarine does and what it has to accomplish in a combined space. For instance the number one cause of fires on a submarine is from the clothes dryer! This is due to the fact that a submarine has a closed ventilation system with no way to expel the lint from the dryer. Therefore if sailors do not continuously clean the dryer lint from the filters, it will heat up and catch fire. The refrigeration plants require Freon gas (just like your refrigerator) if Freon leaks, it displaces oxygen, if this is undetected, people can suffocate. The fuel required to run a torpedo must be self oxygenating, it if ignites (very rare) it produces hydrogen cyanide gas. If seawater gets in the battery compartment the battery will also produce hydrogen cyanide gas. Submariners are fully aware of these dangers and we train continuously on them.

In my opinion some of the troubles the Russian navy has experienced are due to the Cold War and not sharing technology or information on mishaps. For instance the missile explosion that occurred on the Yankee submarine was due to design of liquid rocket propellant mixing. When the two liquids are separated, it works fine, but as the missiles age and rust occurs, the two liquids might mix. NATO countries learned this and stopped using liquid rocket propellants in the 1960s. The Kursk explosion in the Barents is rumored to have occurred due to the Russians testing a hydrogen peroxide torpedo. The hydrogen peroxide exploded causing the submarine to sink. In the 1960s the British had an explosion like this causing a submarine to violently explode pier side. Due to this explosion NATO countries stop using hydrogen peroxide.

As for the Akula II fire extinguishing system, it is still unclear about what was contained in the automatic fire extinguishing system. This submarine's keel was laid down in 1991 meaning that the design occurred during the Cold War. Moreover Akula II submarines first appeared in the late 1980s. I do not want to believe that the Russian Navy would use Freon and not Halon to put out a fire. However, due to some systems like high pressure hydraulics, Freon and not Halon might have been the designed gas. It is more believable that there was a small fire in the machinery compartment that caused the seals on the refrigeration plant to leak Freon. It is time for us to share experiences and technologies.

Submariners have learned a long time ago to never trust any' automatic' system, nothing beats human reaction and human decision making to stop a fire and defend the ship.