Russia plans to start in 2026 the preparations for rescue two Soviet-era nuclear-powered submarines that sank in Arctic watersas reported by the Russian media RBC. Effective submarine recovery K-27 and K-159 would begin in 2027. The plan, which is resumed decades after the ships sank, seeks reduce the risk of radioactive contamination in water.
Last year, the Bellona Foundation of Norway warned about the environmental threat posed by both nuclear submarines. According to the organization, ‘the two submarines contain one million curies of radiationapproximately a quarter of what was released in the first month of the disaster Fukushima‘.
Russia had already expressed its intention to start a project to recover the submarines from their watery grave years ago. However, the war between Russia and Ukraine had prevented concrete progress. Now, Moscow has included funds in the draft federal budget for the recovery of sunken nuclear submarines in the Arctic.
Radioactive leaks from K-27 that killed nine crew members
The K-27 was an experimental attack submarine built in the decade of 1950 for the Soviet Navy. It had a length of 109.8 meterssleeve 8.3draft 6.28m and had two reactors and an innovative molten metal cooling system, which were the cause of its end and the death of several members of its crew.
It entered service in 1963, but the May 24, 1968 had an accident. The power output of one of its reactors dropped sharply and radioactive gases were released in the engine room. Although radiation levels were increasing in 1.5 grays per hourthe sailors, who were not sufficiently prepared, did not recognize the seriousness of the problem. By the time they abandoned their attempts to repair the reactor at sea, nine of them had been exposed to lethal doses of radiation.
The submarine arrived at the base Gremikha in June, where repairs were attempted until it was deemed too expensive. It was decommissioned in 1979 and, with the reactor sealed, towed to a special training area in the east of the kara seain the Arctic Ocean, in 1982.
Russia sank it off the northeast coast of Novaya Zemlyain the bay of Stepovoyin a fjord at a depth of only 33 meters. That shallow depth keeps it exposed to tides and currents that could fracture it and release pollution. Furthermore, the sealing of the reactors was designed to prevent leaks only up to 2032.
The damaged K-159 sank with nine crew members on board
The nuclear powered submarine K-159 It suffered serious technical problems throughout its operational life. It had a length of 107.4 meters, a beam of 7.9 m, a draft of 5.7 m and, like the K-27, it entered service in 1963 and suffered radioactive leaks, the most serious being that of the March 2, 1965in which the entire propulsion plant was contaminated. Its continuous need for overhauls over the years made it an expensive and unreliable submarine.
He was discharged in 1989 and returned to Gremikhawhere it remained practically abandoned, with hardly any maintenance, for 14 years. This caused structural deterioration of the hull, accelerated by corrosion. Because the hull of K-159 was rusted in numerous places, it stayed afloat by welding large empty tanks to its sides like pontoons.
He August 28, 2003the K-159, along with its pontoons and with ten sailors on boardwas towed to Polyarny for its dismantling. A storm tore off one of the pontoons, leaving K-159 in danger of sinking. The Northern Fleet was informed at 01:20, but by 03:00 the submarine had sunk with nine of its crew and 800 kilograms of spent nuclear fuel. Since then, it has been at the bottom of the Barents Seato 200 meters deep.