Key Points and Summary – Eight years after the Kursk tragedy, the Russian Navy faced another submarine nightmare when a Freon gas leak on the new Akula-class submarine K-152 Nerpa killed 20 sailors and civilians during sea trials in 2008.
-The accidental discharge from the fire-suppression system filled two compartments with the toxic gas, leading to mass asphyxiation.
-The disaster, which occurred while the submarine was being prepared for lease to India, highlighted severe deficiencies in Russian naval safety protocols, crew training, and equipment reliability, creating another tragic chapter in the history of its “silent service.”
How a Fire Alarm Triggered a Death Trap on a Russian Nuclear Submarine
You may have heard of the infamous Russian submarine disaster—the Kursk—that was one of the costliest peacetime tragedies in the Navy’s history. This incident happened in the Barents Sea in the Arctic off the coast of Russia in 2000. It resulted in the death of 118 sailors on the powerful Oscar-class submarine.
Eight years later, tragedy struck the Russian submarine service again. A new nuclear-powered K-152 Nerpa Akula-class submarine was set to be leased to India, and the crew was making last-minute inspections during a sea trial in the Sea of Japan. At least 20 people died, including four sailors, when a gas leak spread throughout the boat. Twenty-one sailors were injured. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wanted to get to the bottom of what happened quickly, and a spokesman released some details in November 2008.
“The accident took place last night when the automatic fire extinguishing system was activated accidentally filling the two compartments with a highly toxic gas killing those inside,” Russian Naval public affairs Captain Igor Dygalo said.
Thankfully, There Were No Problems with the Nuclear Propulsion
This did not damage the nuclear reactor, and no radiation was leaked. The sub was able to make it back to port in the Bolshoi Kamen in Russia’s Far East. The boat may have been overcrowded. Since this was a shakedown cruise, extra shipyard workers and engineers were on board.
There were a total of 208 souls—81 of them were officers and enlisted sailors. At least 120 were civilian observers and evaluators hoping to clear the Nerpa for duty. Russian first responders quickly removed the injured personnel and sent them to a hospital while they investigated the incident.
Was it Leadership Negligence?
Two naval personnel were charged with problematic behavior that allegedly caused the tragedy. Captain Dmitry Lavrentyev and engineer Dmitry Grobov were accused of causing “death by negligence.” They were tried and later cleared, but the government appealed and was able to send them to court again in 2012.
The two accused said that this was the result of a malfunctioning system and was thus an unavoidable accident.
Freon Is Dangerous on a Submarine
“The fire extinguishing system – typical on Russian submarines – uses the gas freon, which suppresses fires quickly by displacing oxygen. But it can also be lethal for any crew members who are still in the area when the gas is released. All those who died on Nerpa are thought to have suffocated,” according to the BBC.
The Nerpa was operating in the Russian Pacific Fleet’s test range in Peter the Great Gulf. The commander ordered the Nerpa to dive that night. Then an alarm sounded when a fire extinguishing system was set off. The two forward compartments were filled with freon gas.
This gas is used when fire starts and is supposed to eliminate the flames quickly. The freon is meant to remove oxygen that can extinguish the fire. Each compartment houses a flame retardant system, so if an accidental release of freon comes out, it can be toxic and deadly.
“In high concentrations it is a narcotic, which progresses by stages into excitation, mental confusion, lethargy, and ultimately asphyxiation,” according to the Naval Submarine League.
Speculation Mounted Regarding the Cause of the Tragedy
Initially, one politician determined that no human error caused the leak. However, the Navy disagreed. They believed that the fire extinguishing system had been tested extensively on shore and at sea in previous evaluation periods. The Navy wanted scapegoats, and the captain and chief engineer were placed in custody. Wild accusations greeted the accused. There were allegedly two incidents: someone smoking a cigarette, which set off the system, or sailors falling asleep near the alarm systems.
An alert enlisted man could have prevented the release of gas, had he been doing his job. The Navy believed that people on the submarine had consumed too much alcohol and were drunk during the test mission.
Lack of Russian Language in the Instructions
Another problem could have been the language barrier. Since the submarine was going to be assigned to India, instructions on the fire extinguishing system were written in English. This could have prevented the sailors from reacting faster to the leak. There was also supposedly not enough gas masks for civilian personnel, and a lack of training that could have enabled the sailors to turn the system off before the freon could spread.
This was not the only problem with the Russian silent service after the Kursk disaster. Five years earlier, in 2003, nine Russian sailors were killed in a sunken K-159 submarine, which was being towed to port in bad weather. Then a Russian mini-sub got caught in a fishing net, and the British Royal Navy had to help out and free it.
It appears a combination of faulty equipment and crew negligence caused the freon leak that killed the personnel. The Russian Navy probably decided it was time to limit the number of untrained civilians aboard subs that are going through sea trials. This likely created a chilling effect since the Nerpa was such a new submarine. The Russian Navy blamed the sub’s leadership, specifically the commander and lead engineer, as they were responsible for all operations aboard.
It’s a shame this happened and shows how dangerous it is to serve on any type of submarine in any country.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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