Indian delegation flies to Russia, demands assistance in salvaging sunken submarine

Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall when the Indian delegation arrives at the Admiralty Shipyard?

The Russians have already insisted that the explosion could not possibly be their fault, because we all know how reliable Russian technology is… right? So telling the Indians to their face that clearly they’re to blame should be interesting.

India wants Russia to help raise sunken submarine

Photo: EPA

Indian and Russian officials are discussing options for raising Russian-built Indian diesel-electric submarine Sindhurakshak, which caught fire after a series of explosions on board and sank off Mumbai on August 14, killing all its crew of 18, said a source close to Russia’s shipbuilding industry.

There remain unexploded torpedoes on board, which is an obstacle to raising Sindhurakshak, the source said.

Indian Navy officials have asked for technological and physical help in bringing up the submarine from the seafloor but neither the Russian government nor any Russian firm has received any official request for this from India.

United Shipbuilding Corporation declined to comment, while a spokesman for Admiralty Shipyard, which built Sindhurakshak, said that an Indian delegation was due to visit the shipyard on Friday but did not disclose what would be discussed during the visit.

One explanation of the Mumbai accident that has been offered is that the first explosion was caused by high concentration of hydrogen in an accumulator in the head compartment, which is next to the torpedo unit.

India received Project 877EKM Sindhurakshak in 1997.

A fire on board the vessel in 2010 that was caused by a hydrogen explosion killed one of the sailors.

The submarine was repaired and modernized at Russia’s Zvyozdochka shipyard in 2010-2012.

Russian experts still denied access to sunken Indian sub

A group of Russian experts from the Zvyozdochka ship repair center have not been allowed to visit the site of India’s sunken Sindhurakshak submarine in Mumbai, Zvyozdochka’s official spokeswoman Nadezhda Shcherbinina confirmed to the Voice of Russia.

“They may not be allowed to visit in principle,” she said.

“This is a prerogative of the country that owns the ship. We have contacted our warrantee group in Mumbai. They remain at their hotel. They have not been invited, so to say. They may be or may not be invited to participate.”

Earlier, Russian media reported, citing an unnamed source, that the Russian experts had been granted access to the sunken submarine.

Voice of Russia, Interfax

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_08_23/India-wants-Russia-to-help-raise-sunken-submarine-source-2775/

Faulty Russian technology to blame for Indian submarine disaster? Not according to Russia.

Voice of Russia dismisses theory that Indian submarine disaster has anything whatsoever to do with Russian technology. Nope. Must be human error by Indians. Couldn’t possibly be faulty Russian technology.

Three reasons behind Indian submarine disaster

India has ordered a review of its submarines’ weapons safety systems, after initial investigations showed arms on board the INS Sindhurakshak may have played a role in its sinking. The Voice of Russia has reviewed three possible reasons that led to an explosion on board Indian submarine in Mumbai dockyard on August 14.

First version – sabotage or terrorist attack

The INS Sindhurakshak exploded and sank in the Mumbai port on August 14, on the eve of India’s Independence Day. Most likely, this circumstance stirred a discussion about a possible terrorist attack. Theoretically, extremists might have planned to carry out a “demonstrative subversive act” ahead of the national holiday. However, at the very begging of the investigation into the accident in Mumbai port, the Indian authorities and the majority of local experts dismissed such a version saying that the port and the submarine were guarded around the clock, and a well-organized plot was needed to commit the sabotage.

Second version – technical failure and defect in design

The INS Sindhurakshak was built at the Admiralteiskue Shipyard in St. Petersburg in 1995, and two years later, it was handed over to the customer. In the late 2012, it underwent planned repair and was upgraded at the base of the Zvezdochka Shipbuilding Centre in Severodvinsk which is specialized in repairing the 877 Project submarines. After Indian organization accepted the submarine, it sailed some 10,000 nautical miles and reached the Mumbai port. It has been on combat duty twice. According to Indian media, the night before the accident, Sindhurakshak ended preparations for another outward bound. According to an official at the Zvezdochka Shipbuilding Centre, the specialists of the guarantee group visited the submarine on the eve of the accident, and all systems under their control were completely operable.

In short, from the experts’ point of view, technical or design defect cannot be examined as an apparent reason that led to the accident.

Third version – human factor: violation of safety standards and engineering instructions

A. As part of this version, experts are discussing first and foremost possible violations by the crew during the recharging of the submarine’s accumulators.

Hydrogen emits during the charging and exploitation of batteries, and when its concentration increases, an extremely explosive mixture is formed in the air. In this case, submarine is equipped with a hydrogen burner that is aimed at neutralizing a possible threat of an explosion.

In an interview with the Voice of Russia, retired Commodore Parambir Singh Bawa pointed to the possibility of exploding hydrogen. Several Indian dailies said that there were three explosions on board the submarine: originally, a small blast and then two powerful blasts occurred on board the submarine causing a fire. Then the submarine sank. It was suggested that originally, hydrogen exploded, and then ammunition might have exploded.

However, some experts dismiss possible explosion of hydrogen and diesel fume.

B. According to several Indian dailies, short circuit triggered by a sailor’s mistake might have caused the explosion on board the submarine.

C. Addressing the parliament Defence Minister A.K. Antony said that preliminary investigations had indicated that blasts on INS Sindhurakshak submarine were caused by “possible ignition” of armament.

The cause of ignition, has not established yet.

The Indian Defence Minister said that this would be possible only after the partially submerged submarine is afloat and dewatered.

At present, the Defence Ministry has ordered to check security systems of all submarines of the Indian Navy.

According to several local experts, if a warhead had really exploded on board the submarine, then the submarine’s forward end was completely destroyed because a warhead of a Club anti-ship missile contains 400 kilograms of powerful explosive. Most likely, the entire hull is destroyed, and it will not be expedient to repair the submarine.

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_08_20/Three-reasons-behind-Indian-submarine-disaster-0377/

Russia to launch 2 new submarines for Vietnam People’s Navy

With six Varshavyanka class (improved Kilo class) submarines on order, the Vietnam People’s Navy will operate the largest submarine force in South East Asia and begin to redress China’s perceived dominance in the region.

Russia to Soon Float Out 2 New ‘Black Hole’ Submarines

Russia to Soon Float Out 2 New ‘Black Hole’ Submarines. © RIA Novosti. Igor Chuprin.

ST. PETERSBURG, August 12 (RIA Novosti) – The third of six new “black hole” submarines that Russia is making for the Vietnamese navy will be floated out later this month, the shipbuilder said Monday, adding that the first of another six, for Russia’s own Black Sea Fleet, would be floated out in November.

The Varshavyanka-class (Project 636M) diesel-electric subs, dubbed by the US Navy as “black holes in the ocean” because they are nearly undetectable when submerged, are primarily designed for anti-shipping and anti-submarine missions in relatively shallow waters.

The first of the submarines, which completed its 100-day sea trials last month and for which a Vietnamese crew has been training since April, is expected to be delivered to that country in November, according to the manufacturer, Admiralty Shipyards.

Vietnam ordered the six submarines in 2009, counterbalancing China’s expanding maritime influence in the region. That contract, which also stipulated the training of Vietnamese crews in Russia, was reportedly worth $2 billion.

The Varshavyanka class is an improvement on the Kilo, with more advanced stealth technology and an extended combat range. Construction of the first Varshavyanka-class sub for the Black Sea Fleet, a vessel named the Novorossiisk, began in 2010 and has been completed ahead of schedule, the shipbuilder said.

The submarines, which feature 533-milimeter torpedo tubes and are armed with torpedoes, mines and Kalibr 3M54 (NATO SS-N-27 Sizzler) cruise missiles, displace 3,100 tons, reach speeds of 20 knots, can dive to 300 meters and carry crews of 52 people.

http://en.rian.ru/military_news/20130812/182723406/Russia-to-Soon-Float-Out-2-New-Black-Hole-Submarines.html