Posted on 05/05/2003 1:46:40 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The Chinese submarine accident in which 70 crew died may have been due to a malfunctioning diesel engine that sucked all the oxygen out of the hull, a Chinese Navy official says.
Investigators believe the crew died within two minutes, after submarine No.361 descended on a training mission two weeks ago. All the victims were found at their posts, and there were no signs of struggle, suggesting that death came upon the men quickly, the official said.
The accident occurred during a training mission on April 16, the official said, but was not discovered by the navy until 10 days later, when the submarine crew did not contact their base as expected. The crew had been instructed to maintain radio silence during training to practise concealing their location.
The Chinese military publicly attributed the tragedy to mechanical failure, giving no further explanation, but Western naval specialists familiar with diesel-powered submarines said the official's account was plausible.
The official said the submarine had charged its batteries from its diesel engine at the surface in preparation for descent. Diesel power is switched off in preparation for descent because diesel requires oxygen to burn, the specialists said.
In this case, mechanical failure is believed to have caused the diesel power to continue running, depriving the hull of its oxygen and suffocating the crew, the official said.
"That is very plausible, and I'm inclined to believe that's what happened," said retired admiral Lloyd Vasey, who served 36 years in the US Navy, 12 of them aboard diesel-powered submarines.
Mr Vasey said from Honolulu that "the first thing you do when you dive is you shut off the diesel because it sucks up a lot of air, switch to battery power and close the hatch. People don't forget to shut it down", he said of the diesel engine, which in Ming-class submarines is easily shut off.
Mechanical failure of the engine, air induction valve in the engine room, secondary air ducts, or a gasket were possible explanations, Mr Vasey said.
"But it's possible we may never know the cause."
The No.361 submarine was built in 1995, making it one of the newer of the Ming class that China produced from 1971 to 1996. Intended for patrols and coastal defence, it is copied from the decades-old Soviet Romeo class, which was based on a German U-boat produced in 1944.
The Ming class is considered obsolete by the Federation of American Scientists, but Mr Vasey said that he could see no reason for Beijing to retire its fleet of Ming-class submarines, now estimated at 13, because "accidents can happen to any subs".
The Ming class usually holds nine officers and 46 sailors, suggesting that other technicians or staff officers were aboard for this exercise.
The accident highlights vulnerability in China's ageing fleet of domestic and Russian submarines, estimated to number about 90.
Submarines are tactically useful for China, especially to enforce its claim on the island of Taiwan, because they are difficult to detect, and unseen submarines are a powerful deterrent to any enemy.
The Boston Globe
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