Soviet submarine K-159

Project 627A

• 8 × torpedo tubes ∅ 533 mm

The K -159 was a nuclear submarine of the Soviet and later the Russian Navy. It belonged to the November class. 2003 sank the boat decommissioned with nine crew members during the tow for scrapping.

History

First nuclear accident

On March 2, 1965 arrived aboard the K -159 radioactive material in the radiative actually secondary circuit of pressurized water reactor and thus the entire drive train. The boat was only surpassed in 1967, with large parts of the drive were replaced.

Decommissioning

The K -159 was made May 30, 1989 out of service. Without further measures, the submarine in the Navy base Gremikha was anchored, even the nuclear fuel were not removed ( in the boat is far more radioactive material than in the ailing Asse ). 2003, the Navy finally received funding from the International Fund for environment-friendly disposal of the K -159 and other boats. Since there was the K -159 in poor condition, four large empty tanks had already been moored as pontoons to his torso in order to keep the boat afloat for years. When towing the boat to a shipyard in Polyarny, these tanks were not disassembled and left with the corroded steel cables on the boat.

Fall

On 28 August 2003, the towing of the submarine should start. There were ten seamen on board the submarine. On August 30, the boat was on the rotten glands penetrating water suddenly tail-heavy. Later, the sea tore away one of the more derived from the Second World War, pontoons, and then the boat sank a few hours later in the 238 -meter-deep water. With its seven members of the crew were drowned, two more have been found dead, a sailor survived.

Condemnation of the commander

In May 2004, the then commander of the Northern Fleet, Gennady Sutschkow was, by a military court to four years imprisonment with a probation period of two years, convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Salvage

In July 2007, the Russian Navy announced to want to salvage the sunken boat.