Key Points and Summary – In April 2003, the Chinese Navy experienced a horrific tragedy when all 70 sailors aboard the Ming-class diesel-electric submarine No. 361 died of asphyxiation.
-The submarine was found adrift and silent in the Yellow Sea after a catastrophic mechanical failure, likely involving its diesel engines consuming all the oxygen inside the boat.
The incident, which China initially tried to conceal, highlights the inherent dangers of submarine service.
-Though based on an old Soviet Romeo-class design, the loss of the Ming 361 remains the deadliest peacetime disaster in the history of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
The China Submarine Incident That Showed Undersea Warfare Can Lead to Tragedy
Submarine personnel are considered elite sailors the world over. It takes a special kind of courage to dive to the depths and stay submerged in a cramped and austere environment. There have been numerous accidents over the years—some of them fatal—and it forces one to realize just how dangerous submarine duty is.
China’s Navy suffered an unthinkable submarine disaster when a Ming-class submarine, number 361, never made it back to port. In April 2003, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) went through a tragedy all undersea sailors ultimately fear—dying of asphyxiation.
What Happened?
It began on April 25, 2003, when a periscope was seen by a Chinese fishing boat in the Bohai Sea. The scope appeared to be dead in the water. This sighting alerted the fishermen, and the vessel’s captain called in the PLAN. The sub was located off China’s northeast coast, and the Navy reacted swiftly.
The PLAN sent two ships to the area. Officers on board figured that the non-moving sub belonged to the North Korean, South Korean, or Japanese Navies. The PLAN vessels were able to corral the submarine on April 26 and found that it belonged to China. The Ming-class 361 had no one alive on board.
All 70 seemingly suffocated.
Keeping the Tragic Accident Under Wraps
Initially, the PLAN was not inclined to make the incident public.
The Chinese waited until early May, when President Jiang Zemin announced that the tragedy had happened. A spokesman said the sub had undergone some type of mechanical failure. The boat had been operating in exercises in the Yellow Sea, and it was later sailing in the Bohai Sea near Beijing and Tianjin. Before the incident was discovered, the unlucky submarine was near the island of Changshang to return to its home port in Weihai, Shandong Province.
Maybe This Was All Part of the Naval Exercises
The sub had undergone communications silence in the days leading up to the incident. The PLAN thought that since it was training realistically, this was part of the naval drills. But the Ming-class number 361 had actually been drifting with no one in charge for at least ten days.
What Caused the Deadly Incident?
The PLAN didn’t release details of why the tragedy happened. Some observers thought it was because of overcrowding on the vessel. The Number 361 was supposed to house 57 sailors, but it turned out there were 70 onboard, including 14 officer cadets. The submarine may have been testing a new propulsion system, which would have necessitated posting extra officers, technicians, and engineers on the sub.
Another cause could have been that the diesel fuel on board somehow choked the crew. Diesel fumes could have caused a toxic fuel leak. Perhaps it was carbon monoxide.
“Notably, a typical diesel-electric submarine charges its batteries for underwater propulsion using an air-breathing diesel engine. Although this is typically done when surfaced, a submarine trying to avoid detection may alternatively travel just below the surface while sipping air with a snorkel. If the water level rises too high, the snorkel is made to shut down automatically,” according to the EurAsian Times.
This Incident Fills You With Terror
However, the air intake valve may have been faulty, and it refused to open. This malfunction could have robbed the crew of oxygen. Sadly, the crew must have endured a scary, agonizing death that no one would wish on anybody. They couldn’t turn off the diesel engines in time and likely experienced dizziness that led to them losing consciousness, all the while wondering what went wrong. Alternatively, they perhaps died without knowing they were in danger, which heightens the sad circumstances.
The Chinese government never said what the cause was, and we are left to speculate. They did blame Commander Shi Yunsheng and Political Commissar Yang Huaiqing. This incident is the largest peacetime loss of life in the history of the Chinese Navy.
While China kept the details of the incident top secret, the PLAN likely conducted an after-action review to see if they could improve the survivability of the Ming-class and make sure there was no overcrowding again. They also probably started training sailors better on the ins and outs of diesel-electric submarines.
An Older Design Based on a Russian Sub
The Ming-class design was based on a Soviet-era submarine from the Russians called the Romeo-class. The Romeo-class dates back to the 1950s, so the Ming submarine likely did not have modern safety systems, but it was considered advanced for the era due to other upgrades.
In all, this could have been avoided with proper care taken while operating the diesel-electric propulsion system. It is a significant reminder of how dangerous undersea warfare can be. All sailors assigned to submarines around the world are courageous to agree to serve as crew in the first place. Many are well-trained and used to the risks, but sometimes bad luck enters the picture, and the worst happens.
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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