How to sink a $3 billion submarine: Leave a hatch open

Summary: Sea travel has always been risky, especially for military personnel where the dangers are even greater. Countless sailors have lost their lives due to these risks, often due to human error or poor planning. Notable incidents include the collision of the USS Enterprise with Bishop Rock in 1985, the sinking of the Vasa due to design flaws in the 17th century, and the accident of a German submarine using a high-pressure toilet in World War II. Perhaps the most embarrassing incident was the near sinking of India’s first nuclear submarine, the INS Arihant, in 2017 due to a hatch left open, resulting in extensive repairs and a year-long shutdown.

How a human error nearly sank a $3 billion nuclear submarine

Traveling at sea was never without risks.

The dangers are even greater for people in military uniforms, and it has always taken a special kind of men and women who are willing to take the step beyond the horizon.

Countless sailors have lost their lives due to the dangers of the sea – but in some cases it was due to foolish mistakes.

What happened to this submarine: Open the hatch

These included collisions and several dozen U.S. Navy ships have been seriously damaged in such accidents. The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) suffered severe damage in November 1985 when it struck a portion of the 21-kilometer-long Bishop Rock, damaging its hull.

Other times, it’s simply due to poor planning or construction, and as a result, some ships barely made it to the open sea on their maiden voyage. This was certainly the case with the Vasa, described as the most modern warship when it was built in the 17th century. The Swedish warship sank within just twenty minutes of setting sail after a gust of wind capsized the majestic ship – likely due to the heavy cannons on its gun deck.

Other naval disasters were the result of “human error” of the most extreme kind. At the end of World War II, a German Type VIIC submarine was nearly sunk on its maiden voyage because the boat’s new deep-water high-pressure toilet was used “improperly,” allegedly by the captain! Seawater flooded the boat’s batteries, causing them to release chlorine gas, forcing the U-1206 to surface. The crew scuttled the submarine after it was bombed by British patrols. Three men drowned in the heavy seas.

A hatch left open

Perhaps the most embarrassing accident in the history of military shipping occurred during the commissioning of INS Arihant, India’s first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, in 2017.

The then-brand-new, $2.9 billion submarine was completely out of service for nearly a year simply because a hatch was left open, allowing seawater to enter and nearly sink the boat.

The nuclear submarine was the first of an expected five of this class designed and built under the Indian Navy’s Advanced Technology Vessel project. The Arihant was equipped with four launch tubes capable of carrying a dozen K-15 short-range missiles or K-4 medium-range missiles. While the submarine’s weapons and capabilities were highly advanced, the crew training certainly was not.

In addition, the Arihant’s design and manufacture suffered a number of problems, including delays in construction and, in particular, major differences between the Russian-supplied design and the domestic production. Of course, these were all minor compared to the damage caused by human error.

When the hatch was left open, not only did the propulsion compartments fill with seawater, but the pipes running through the submarine were significantly damaged. Because seawater can corrode the various pipes, including those carrying pressurized water coolant to and from the ship’s 83-megawatt nuclear reactor, all of the pipes had to be cut out and replaced. The 6,000-ton INS Arihant remained out of service in the docks while the water was pumped out and the pipes replaced. The entire process took ten months.

India had tried to cover up the accident, but without much success. The absence of the INS Arihant was first noticed in the summer of 2017 during the border conflict with China in Doklam. At the time, the Indian military only confirmed that the submarine had been repaired in early 2018. As far as naval accidents go, the Arihant may be one of the most embarrassing, but at least it did not cost anyone any lives.

Despite a rocky start, the submarine has reportedly had a largely successful service history.

Experience and expertise of the author

Peter Suciu is a writer from Michigan. He has published over 3,200 articles for more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites in his twenty-year career as a journalist. He writes regularly about military equipment, weapons history, cybersecurity, politics and international affairs. Peter is also a guest writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.

Image credit: Creative Commons.