Fire in cables led to INS Sindhuratna mishap: Navy

INS Sindhuratna was caused due to problems in the cable and not the battery compartment, as was being feared earlier, Navy officials said here.

The investigations are still going on into the incident and other two accidents involving the Kilo class submarines of the Navy in the last seven months, they said.

The battery pit has been found to be fully safe and the fire took place in the compartment above it, Navy officials said.

Former Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi resigned after the accident involving the Sindhuratna taking moral responsibility of the ten accidents involving maritime force's assets.

The Sindhuratna is one of the navy's fleet of nine Kilo class submarines. A tenth submarine, the INS Sindhurakshak exploded and sank in the naval dockyard on August 14, 2013 killing 18 crewmen on board. The Sindhuratna was moored nearby and suffered minor fire damage when the Sindhurakshak exploded.

The board of inquiry (BoI) into the February 26 accident has found that the fire in

The fire in submarine INS Sindhuratna, which resulted in the death of two officers and severely affected seven other sailors last week, was caused due to problems in the cables of the vessel.

Crossed the Bar and Resting on Their Oars - Two sailors found dead in Indian submarine accident

Two Indian naval officers were found dead Thursday after they went missing in a submarine fire off Mumbai’s coast, the latest in a string of accidents that have forced the navy’s chief to quit.

Seven other crew members were airlifted to hospital with breathing problems after smoke began to fill the vessel’s living quarters on Wednesday, an accident that comes only six months after another deadly submarine disaster in Mumbai.

“The two officers who were earlier declared missing have been located in the (submarine) compartment and after examination by Medical Officers both the officers were declared dead,” said an emailed statement from the defence ministry.

Admiral DK Joshi, the chief of naval staff, announced Wednesday night he was standing down to take “moral responsibility” for the accident on board the Russian-built INS Sindhuratna during exercises. 

Last August, 18 sailors were killed when the fully-armed submarine INS Sindhurakshak exploded in flames and sank in a military shipyard in Mumbai.

That disaster was thought to be the Indian Navy’s worst since the sinking of a frigate by a Pakistani submarine during a war with its neighbour in 1971. Various other naval accidents reported in recent months included a submarine running aground in Mumbai’s harbour, fires on a minesweeping vessel and an aircraft carrier, and a collision between a frigate and a fishing boat. The Indian navy has 14 submarines, but only between seven and nine are operational at any one time because of regular repair and refitting. Defence experts say the navy has an ageing fleet and has struggled with delays in the acquisition of new submarines and poor servicing.

Defence Minister AK Antony told reporters on Thursday that outgoing chief Joshi was “pretty much disturbed about the whole development”.

“He requested me to take his resignation with immediate effects,” Antony said.

While a full inquiry is expected to determine the exact cause of the latest accident, the navy said it appeared to have been due to sparks in a sleeping cabin.

According to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency, smoke filled a compartment and triggered emergency measures, such as the closure of hatches which isolate sections of the submarine. The missing pair “might have been left in the cabin or at some other place as various cabins and compartments are isolated as part of the emergency measures”, PTI quoted an unnamed navy officer as saying on Wednesday.
The stricken submarine docked in Mumbai on Thursday morning, allowing the navy to ventilate the vessel and step up their search for the missing pair.

INS Sindhuratna is a kilo-class submarine which normally operates with a crew of 53 and can sail on its own for 45 days, the navy’s website says.

The submarine had only been handed back to the navy in December after undergoing a major refit, according to local reports.

It had been undergoing trials off the Mumbai coast as part of a clearance process for full operations when the incident occurred. 

Russia is still the biggest military supplier to India, but relations have been strained by major delays and cost overruns with a refurbished aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya.

India - Navy Chief quits over spate of submarine mishaps

India’s navy chief, Admiral D.K. Joshi resigned as chief of the Indian navy, owning “moral responsibility for the accidents and incidents during the past few months”, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. Admiral Joshi is the first Indian military commander to have resigned since General Kodandera Subayya Thimmaiah in 1959 -- and the only to have his resignation accepted by the government.

 

The naval chief's resignation came hours after a fire on board the newly-refitted Sindhuratna claimed the lives of two naval officers and injured seven -- the third in a series of submarine accidents, including an explosion on the Sindhurakshak which exploded and sank in Mumbai’s naval dockyard in August, 2013, killing 18 crew. Last month, the Sindhughosh ran ground on its way to Mumbai harbour, though without loss of life.

 

Experts that the resignation also came against concerns within the navy on the capabilities of its fleet, and “It is highly principled of the Admiral to offer his resignation”, said Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar, a prominent naval analyst and former officer “but I suspect the real reasons have to do with frustration over successive governments failing to modernise the submarine fleet”.

 

Dangerous fleet

 

Five of, of India’s thirteen conventionally-powered submarines, naval sources have told The Hindu, have exceeded their design life. The INS Sindhughosh, Sindhudhaj, the Sindhuraj, Sindhuvir and ill-fated Sindhuratna, all Russian-manufactured Kilo-class submarines, were all inducted between 1986 and 1988. The most recent of the Kilo-class fleet, the Sindhushastra, was puchased in 2000, preceded by the Sindhurakshak in 1997, and the Sindhuvijay was inducted in 1991.

 

The Sindhurakshak had suffered an earlier fire accident in 2010, which claimed the life of a sailor.

 

“In an ideal world”, a senior submarine commander said, “you’d want to keep a submarine in active service for no more than two decades or so. The navy has refitted its submarines to keep them running, but age obviously increases the risks of material failures significantly”.

 

The Navy has long complained of delays in submarine fleet modernisation, at a time when regional navies, notably China, are dramatically expanding their fleets. India also does not have a full-fledged submarine rescue vessel.

 

Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan will take over as Acting Naval Chief till a regular Chief is appointed.

Algeria ordering two Kilo class submarines

Algeria will soon order two Kilo class diesel electric submarines from Russia, which will join the four already in its fleet.

A Russian defence industry source told ITAR-TASS that Algeria plans to order the two Project 636 Varshavyanka (Kilo class) submarines in the first half of this year, for delivery by 2018. The submarines will be constructed at the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg.

The value of the contract may be more than $1.2 billion, according to Interfax.

Algeria already operates four Kilo class submarines. In June 2006 Rosoboronexport signed a contract with the Algerian Navy for the construction of two Project 636 Improved Kilo class submarines under a roughly US$400-600 million contract. Construction of the first submarine started in 2006 and the second began in 2007. They were handed over to the Algerian Navy in March and September 2010 where they joined two Project 877EKM Kilo diesel electric submarines, which Algeria received in 1987-1988. The latter two were upgraded by Russian shipyards.

The Project 636 Varshavyanka class is mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters. The tear-drop hulled submarine is 72.6m long, 9.9m wide and can dive to 300 meters. The design has a displacement of 3076 tons. Underwater, it reportedly has a speed of up to 25 knots. The complement is 52 and the submarine has an endurance of 45 days. The boat is fitted with six 533mm torpedo tubes and carries up to 18 homing or wire-guided torpedoes, or 24 AM-1 mines.

The outer hull is covered with sound damping tiles and its machinery as well as design is regarded as very quiet. Designed by the Rubin Central Maritime Design Bureau of St Petersburg, the submarine entered service in 1982. The type was originally built at the Komsomolsk shipyard and lately by the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg. It is in service with the navies of Russia, China, Vietnam, Iran, India and Poland, among others. Some 50 have been built.

The Algerian Navy has been undergoing expansion in recent years as it faces problems such as smuggling, illegal migration and indigenous terrorism. These threats mainly affect Algeria's harbours and maritime communication routes and ships passing through the Straits of Gibraltar. Consequently, the Algerian Navy maintains a well-trained and well-equipped fleet to provide security to more than 1000 km of coastline. The country is also maintaining a strong navy to deter its neighbours, notably Morocco.

In April 2012 it emerged that Algeria had signed a contract with the China Shipbuilding Trading Company for three light frigates, after ordering two Meko A-200N frigates from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in March 2012. The three light frigates will displace around 2 800 tons fully loaded, and will be powered by MTU diesel engines. Algeria has also ordered two new Tiger class corvettes from Russia. The Tiger corvette (Project 20382) is an export model of the Project 20380 Steregushchy class, which is the Russian Navy’s newest corvette class.

In January Italian shipyard Fincantieri launched the Algerian Navy’s Kalaat Beni-Abbes landing helicopter dock ship, which will be delivered to Algeria later this year. Algeria may order a second of the type in the coming months.

Smoke on INS Sindhuratna; 2 Navy officers missing

The incident happened off the Mumbai coast on the kilo-class submarine while it was on a routine training exercise.

Minor smoke was detected on Indian Navy Submarine Sindhuratna on Wednesday in the early morning hours. Five sailors have sustained minor injuries, Navy sources said.

News agency PTI says two officials were unaccounted for. "They might have been left in the cabin or at some other place as various cabins and compartments are isolated as part of the emergency measures," said a Navy officer to PTI.

The incident happened off the Mumbai coast around 150 Nautical miles on the kilo class submarine while it was on its routine training exercise.

The exact cause and the origin of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Sources claim that there is no grave damage caused to the submarine. As soon as the crew raised an alarm , a Navy helicopter and a Fast Attack craft were sent by the Navy.

"The smoke was detected around 6 am on the submarine by the crew. As soon as the Navy Operation Centre learnt about the mishap, Navy helicopters and a Fast Attack aircraft were pressed into service. The men who inhaled smoke because of the enclosed compartments were airlifted to INS base Ashwini and are recuperating at the Navy hospital ," Navy spokesperson told The Hindu.

"The submarine is afloat and no damage has been reported. The Navy crew is on board and the damage is being ascertained," the spokesperson added.

According to sources, the kilo class submarine was carrying no ammunition since it was still in testing mode and was yet to be placed under operation. Another submarine will also be pressed into service to render assistance , sources said.

Following the incident the submarine will be tested for its sea worthiness.

This is the third incident concerning a kiloclass submarine in the recent past. Last year 18 crew members died after a major fire broke out on INS Sindhurakshak.

Vietnam joins submarine arms race amid South China Sea tensions

Vietnam finally has a new weapon against the Chinese maritime expansion after receiving its first Kilo-class submarine from Russia on the last day of 2013, according to the Washington-based Strategy Page on Feb. 20.

 

The submarine is the first of six 2,300-tonne Kilo-class submarines to arrive in Vietnam after the country signed a US$2.1 billion deal with Russia in 2009. The submarines are likely to be based at Cam Ranh Bay, a deep water port located in southern Vietnam, Strategy Page said. The port was once used by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War, and later became a naval facility of the former Soviet Union.

 

A Kilo-class submarine is capable of carrying 18 torpedoes or SS-N-27 anti-ship missiles. The SS-N-27 can be launched underwater from the torpedo tubes and its range is estimated to be 300 kilometers. Combined with its quietness and Russian cruise missiles, the Kilo-class submarine is a very dangerous weapon against the surface combat vessels of the People's Liberation Army Navy operating in the disputed South China Sea, the report said.

 

Other nations such as North Korea, Iran and China have also imported Kilo-class submarines from Russia. China is said to have gone one step further, designing its own unlicensed version of the Kilo-class, known as the Type 41 Song-class submarine.

 

Vietnam was able to purchase the Russian-built submarines at a relatively low price, and they may not be equipped with air independent propulsion which would allow non-nuclear boats to stay underwater for weeks at a time, according to the Strategy Page.

 

Tensions between Hanoi and Beijing center around the disputed Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea, while Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also lay claim to the area.

Vietnam’s 2nd Russian-made sub completes sea trials

The second Kilo-class submarine Vietnam agreed to buy from Russia has completed its sea trials and been returned to the shipyard where it was built, Russian news agency Interfax reported Tuesday.

 

The submarine named Ho Chi Minh City and built by Admiralty Shipyards of St. Petersburg undertook two dives, reaching a depth of 190 meters on one of them, reported Interfax.

The Ho Chi Minh City set off for its sea trials on April 28, four months after being launched. 

The training of the submarine’s Vietnamese crew will take place later this month.

According to Interfax’s sources, the third of the six submarines that Vietnam ordered from Russia, named after Vietnam’s port city of Hai Phong, will be launched at the end of this year, while the remaining three are still being built.

Vietnam signed a US$2 billion deal to buy six Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Moscow in December 2009, with Russia promising to deliver all of them by 2016. As part of the deal, Russia agreed to train the Vietnamese crew and supply Vietnam with necessary equipment.

The first sub, named after Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi, was launched in August 2012. 

It underwent 23 successful dives, according to an Interfax report in May.

The first two subs are scheduled to be handed over to Vietnam later this year.

Kilo-class subs, nicknamed “Black Holes” for their ability to prevent detection, are designed to carry out anti-submarine and anti-ship missions, general reconnaissance and patrols, according to a RIA Novosti report. They are thought to be among the world’s quietest diesel-electric powered subs.

Equipped with six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes, they can travel up to 9,600 kilometers without refueling; have a displacement capacity of 2,300 tons; and can reach depths of up to 350 meters. 

Vietnam has said it has purchased the Kilo-class subs and other armaments exclusively for self-defense purposes.

Crew of first Vietnamese submarine to make five 10-days sea voyages

The sea part of the training of the crew of the first Project 636 submarine built for the Vietnamese Navy has begun in the village of Svetly near Kaliningrad, a source in the Russian shipbuilding industry told Interfax-AVN.

"The theoretical, coastal part was followed by the sea part of the training, which includes five 10-days sea voyages," the source said.

"Since the beginning of the factory trials, which included tests by the customer's representatives, the first export series submarine has successfully conducted 23 dives," he said.

In 2013, the shipbuilding enterprise Admiralteiskiye Verfi will provide to the Vietnamese Navy the first two diesel electric Project 6363 Varshanyanka submarines of the six submarines envisioned by the contract, a source in the Russian defense industry told Interfax earlier. 

The contract for the supply of six diesel electric Project 6363 submarines was signed in 2009 during a visit to Moscow by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Besides, submarine construction, the contract envisions the training of Vietnamese crews and the supply of the needed equipment and technical property.

Project 6363 diesel electric submarines are third-generation submarines. These submarines have a good modernization potential that makes it possible to integrate new weapons, including the anti-ship missile system Club, which considerably expands the target area. 

A training center is created to train the crews of the Vietnamese submarines in Kamran with assistance from the ST. Petersburg OAO Concern NPO Avrora. 

The enterprise developed and created five systems for these submarines, specifically, the computerized information system Lama and the submarine management system Palladiy.

Russia to Help Launch Vietnam's Submarines This Year

Moscow will proceed with plans this year to help Vietnam launch a new submarine fleet and train the crews, Russian Defense Ministry Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday. 

“This year our joint efforts will open a new page in Vietnam’s navy – a new fleet will appear,” Shoigu said, after talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Defense Minister General Phung Quang Thanh.

Shoigu said the two ministers discussed “crew training and preparation of the submarines,” for which Russian military schools will provide assistance, he said.

In 2009, Vietnam ordered a fleet of six Russian Project 636M diesel-electric (Kilo class) attack submarines, in a step seen as an effort to counterbalance China’s expanding maritime influence in the region.

The two nations remain in dispute over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

Earlier this week Shoigu visited Khanh Hoa Province's Cam Ranh Port, which was Russia's largest naval base outside its territory until 2002.

Vietnam’s Undersea Anti-Access Fleet

If nothing else, this series on access denial shows that anti-access strategy comes in many varieties. Vietnam too is pursuing such a strategy, founded on a squadron of six Kilo-class submarines Russia is building for the Vietnam People’s Navy under a contract inked in 2009. In August the Vietnamese press reported that the first boat has been launched, and that all six will be delivered by 2016. The elusive Kilos should make a lethal access-denial force. While China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy operates Kilos itself, it has conspicuously neglected antisubmarine warfare hardware and techniques. It seems South China Sea waters will remain opaque to Chinese commanders for the foreseeable future despite the PLA Navy’s overwhelming superiority over the Vietnam People’s Navy.

First consider the politics of access denial, as we did with Iran and North Korea. Vietnam and China, like North and South Korea, are contiguous powers with vital interests at stake in the same waters. Vital interests like territory beget strong passions. Whereas Iran prizes its ability to manage offshore waters and skies more than the United States cares about operating there—and thus commands a political edge—both Hanoi and Beijing are impassioned about their maritime claims in the South China Sea. Both are prepared to wage efforts of serious magnitude and duration,commensurate with their material capacity to carry on the competition. Neither is likely to relent after dispassionately tallying up the costs and hazards of operating in waters its opponent wants to place off-limits. The result: a combustible situation.

Several tactical and operational characteristics of Vietnamese access denial are worth pondering. Its anti-access force, like all such forces, is asymmetric to the adversary it is designed to oppose. But unlike relatively balanced Iranian and North Korean forces, the Vietnamese access-denial contingent is almost purely one-dimensional. Hanoi doubtless chose well if it could select only one platform to execute its strategy. Submarines offer enormous bang for the buck, and they are survivable. Still, this also means that advances in Chinese antisubmarine warfare could nullify Vietnam’s effort to fend off the PLA Navy. Next, Vietnamese access denial could take on an offensive as well as a defensive character. Vietnamese Kilos could, say, loiter unseen off the Chinese naval station at Sanya, on Hainan Island, holding PLA Navy submarines at risk at the delicate moment when they are entering or leaving port—exposing them to enemy action.

Access denial—a strategically defensive posture—could therebytake on an escalatory hue.The inception of a Vietnamese undersea fleet will further crowd the already crowded waterspace of Southeast Asia, complicating efforts to discriminate among friend, foe, and bystander. China operates Kilos; so will Vietnam; even India could conceivably dispatch Kilos to the region. And this leaves aside the different submarine types deployed by Singapore, Malaysia, and other regional seafaring states. The chances for miscalculations and mishaps will only grow as access-denial strategies take shape.

Not long ago, pundit Robert Kaplan pronounced the South China Sea “the future of conflict.” Kaplan may have spoken truer than he knew.

Algeria looking to procure two additional Improved Kilo Project 636M Diesel Submarines from Russia

Algeria may order two additional diesel electric submarines of project 636M considered one of the best selling products of the Russian defense industry from Russia. A source in the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Rosoboronexport received an application from Algeria for purchase of two diesel electric submarines of project 636M (Kilo according to NATO classification).

A source close to the special exporter of Russian armament confirmed this. According to one of the sources, in August the Ministry of Industry and Trade chose Admiralty Shipyards (a part of USC) as contractor for the order according to proposal of the Federal Service for Military Technological Cooperation. The source explained, "The decision of Algeria to buy additional submarines from Russia is evidently connected with growth of tension in the region with regard to events of the "Arab spring." The source explained that the contractor for the order was chosen "in accordance with wishes of the customer country." In 2020, Admiralty Shipyards supplied two submarines of project 636 to Algeria in the framework of fulfillment of the contract of 2006 (its value amounted to about $600 million). The sources did not disclose the value of the new contract.

                         

Algeria may order two additional diesel electric submarines of project 636M considered one of the best selling products of the Russian defense industry from Russia. A source in the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Rosoboronexport received an application from Algeria for purchase of two diesel electric submarines of project 636M (Kilo according to NATO classification).

Project 636 Improved Kilo class submarines, featuring advanced “stealth” technology, extended combat range and ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets

(picture: Internet)

                         

Kilo class submarine was designed by central maritime design bureau Rubin. It is considered one of the most silent diesel submarine in the world. Its length amounts to 73.8 meters, width amounts to 9.9 meters and displacement amounts to 2,350 cubic meters. Underwater speed amounts to 20 knots, the maximal submersion depth amounts to 300 meters. The crew consists of 52 people. The submarine is armed with four missiles (the quantity may be increased), 18 torpedoes and 24 mines.

Project 636 represents a modernized submarine of project 877EKM Varshavyanka supplied to seven countries including Algeria between the 1980s and 1990s. Two submarines of project 877EK were built for Algeria at Admiralty Shipyards in the 1980s. In 2005, Admiralty Shipyards together with Rubin design bureau signed a contract on repair of these two submarines and in 2006 Algeria decided to buy two new submarines. Thus, in case of signing of a new contract the navy of Algeria will have six submarines made in Russia.

One of the sources says that signing of a firm contract is expected in 2013. A source close to Rosoboronexport does not rule out that its signing may be postponed because of disputes about the candidacy of the contractor. The source adds, "USC is currently struggling for revision of the resolution of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The corporation counts on reception of the status of the only supplier of submarines of project 636 in the framework of the Algerian contract and to use Admiralty Shipyard for its fulfillment." Earlier, USC tried to achieve granting of a status of a subject of military technological cooperation with a right of "foreign trade activity related to military products."

Representatives of USC could not answer the question if this practice would be applicable to other export contracts. Press secretary of the corporation Alexei Kravchenko refused to comment. A source in the shipbuilding industry presumed that this entire store could be connected with plans of USC "to build internal cooperation."

Sergei Karabaev, managing partner of lawyer bureau Karabaev and Partners, presumes that USC has good changes to receive status of contractor for the export order. Karabaev adds, "There is a legal loophole: it is sufficient for USC to obtain a license of Rosoboronzakaz that says that the corporation is producer of military products. Then USC will be able to hire Admiralty Shipyards for fulfillment of the export order in the framework of cooperation." However, in this case USC will have either to buy or to rent production facilities because this is one of the terms for issue of a license. The expert concludes that air defense corporation Almaz-Antey has been working on the market of military technological cooperation in this way for many years.

Iran And The Kilo Kludge

Iran recently put one of its three Kilo class submarines back into service after a period of refurbishment by an Iranian shipyard. Russia insists that refurbishment and upgrades of its Kilo class subs be done in Russian shipyards. But the Iranians believed the Russians were charging too much and feared the Russians would not return the sub. So the Iranians did it themselves, even though the Russians would not provide the technical data normally needed for such an upgrade. According to the Iranian press release, Iranian technicians fabricated replacement parts for internal (pumps, compressors, engines and the like) and external (sound absorbent tiles, control surfaces) components and installed them. While some of the technology needed here (pneumatic, engines, electronics) is pretty common stuff, other items are not. So it's unknown how adequate the Iranian replacement parts were. Iran often exaggerates its accomplishments in the area of military technology.

The Kilos weigh 2,300 tons (surface displacement), have six torpedo tubes and a crew of 57. They are quiet, and can travel about 700 kilometers under water at a quiet speed of about five kilometers an hour. Kilos carry 18 torpedoes or SS-N-27 anti-ship missiles (with a range of 300 kilometers and launched underwater from the torpedo tubes.) The combination of quietness and cruise missiles makes Kilo very dangerous to surface ships. The new Iranian components have probably made these boats louder, and easier to find. U.S. and allied anti-submarine forces will be keen to play with the refurbished Kilo when it ventures out into international waters (which it may avoid doing to prevent anyone from "hearing" how this Kilo has changed.)