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Project 210,Project 10831[5][6] orAS-31[6][4] (Russian:АС-31), nicknamedLosharik (Russian:Лошарик,IPA:[lɐˈʂarʲɪk]), is a Russian deep-diving nuclear poweredsubmarine. On 1 July 2019, a fire broke out on the vessel while it was taking underwater measurements of the sea floor in Russian territorial waters.
АС stands forАтомная Станция (Atomnaya Stantsiya), from the Russian naval termатомная глубоководная станция, 'nuclear deepwater station'.[7][8] The submarine is also known asAS-12, but this number is assigned to another vessel.[9]
The submarine was laid down in 1988, but it was not launched until August 2003 due to financial problems, as well as the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is designated for research, rescue, and special military operations and is operated by theMain Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, (Главное управление глубоководных исследований (GUGI)), reporting to theRussian Defence Ministry.[10][11][12][13][14][2][15]
Titanium spheres
The pressure hull of the submarine is believed to be formed from up to seven interconnected titanium spherical elements; this limits space for living quarters and equipment, but grants increased structural strength.[2][15] The vessel is powered by a nuclear reactor, and its exact operational depth is not in public information. It is known to have operated at about 2,000–2,500 metres (6,600–8,200 ft) depth in theArctic Ocean in 2012[4] and is capable of being carried by a modifiedDelta III-class submarine.[2][16]
The vessel has been described as a "spy submarine" that could possibly be used to tap into or sever underwater telecommunications cables.[16] Russia has released little information about it officially and there are few photographs of it; the clearest is believed to have been taken inadvertently during aTop Gear Russia photo-shoot inArkhangelsk.[17]
The nicknameLosharik comes from the vessel's multi-spherical hull and was taken from a character in the Soviet animated filmLosharik, a toy horse consisting of small spheres. The wordlosharik is aportmanteau of "лошадь" (loshad, 'horse') and "шарик" (sharik, 'small sphere').[14][18] TheNATO reporting name for this submarine is NORSUB-5.[19]
The Project 09852modified Oscar-class submarineBelgorod, was specially refitted beginning in 2012 in order to transportLosharik, in support of GUGI operations. The refit included both removing the cruise missile launch tube bay to make room for a new bay about 18 meters long that is capable of accommodating special operations submarines such as the Losharik or Paltus and lengthening the bow bay to 38 meters to accommodate the new Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedoes. Belgorod may have a revolving launcher capable of accommodating six Poseidons.[22][a]
A fire broke out on the vessel on 1 July 2019 while it was taking underwater measurements of the sea floor in Russian territorial waters. Fourteen of the crew were killed by inhalation of smoke or toxic fumes.[16][23] Seven of those who died held the rank offirst rank captain and two were recipients of theHero of the Russian Federation award.[24] Submarine commander Denis Dolonsky was among those killed.[25] The presence of such a high-ranking crew on a single vessel may be an indication that the vessel was carrying out a high-risk task or testing a new capability at the time of the accident.[26] In comparison, submarineKursk – which was lost with all hands after a similar disaster – had 118 crew members of whom only two held the rank of captain 1st rank.[27]
The fire broke out at around 8:30 p.m.MT, reportedly at the depth of 300 meters (980 ft),[28] and was extinguished by the crew.[23][2] Fishermen inUra Bay reported that they saw a submarine surface rapidly at around 9:30 p.m. and meet a navy ship and two tugs.[29]Losharik was later towed to the Russian Northern Fleet base atSeveromorsk where five survivors were hospitalised with smoke poisoning and concussions.[2][25] One civilian was present aboard the vessel at the time of the accident and survived after being moved to a less-affected part of the submarine.[30]
Initial reports indicated thatLosharik was not attached to its mother submarine when a fire broke out in its battery compartment and that only 5 crewmembers were on watch at the time of the accident with the rest allegedly asleep, as a result only the 5 crewmembers who were on watch managed to don the portable breathing kits in time.[31][32] Later reports disagree stating thatLosharik was either attached to the mother submarine at the time of the fire (reports disagree somewhat whether it was BS-136 Orenburg or BS-64 Podmoskovye),[33] or in the process of docking with the mother submarine which was successfully completed despite the fire.[34] Crewmembers fought the fire for over 40 minutes and then requested permission to evacuate to the mother submarine when the oxygen supply in their portable breathing devices ran out.[35][33] Allegedly, at some point it appears that the mother submarine sent a 4-man rescue team to the submarine, possibly the 4 crewmembers who received the Hero of the Russian Federation award after the incident (Voskresenskiy, Somov, Oparin, Solovyev), in order to assist the crew aboard Losharik.[35][33] Other sources seem to suggest Solovyev allegedly evacuated the sole civilian from Losharik.[36] In total 5 crewmembers (allegedly all from Losharik) are believed to have survived the incident.[34] In addition to the fire, at least one explosion occurred aboardLosharik during the incident.[35] As the situation deteriorated the crew of the mother submarine feared that the mother submarine could be in danger as well and isolated itself from Losharik.[34] One source states that the crew flooded Losharik.[34] However, it is unknown whether this could be accomplished from the mother submarine. Other sources confirm that flooding did occur but that it was caused by the explosion which damaged/breached Losharik's hull.[33] Initial assessment suggest that the submarine's operations compartments were heavily damaged with the radio-electronic equipment, automatics, acoustics, navigation equipment and life support system destroyed.[37] The engineering compartments containing the nuclear reactor were allegedly intact.[38][39]
The incident was the worst loss of life on a Russian submarine since the 2008K-152Nerpa accident which killed 20 men.[23] The commander-in-chief of the Russian NavyNikolai Yevmenov launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, and PresidentVladimir Putin sent Defense MinisterSergey Shoygu to monitor the investigation and report on the incident.[40][29] On 2 July, Shoygu reported on the fire to Putin, theSupreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, at a meeting in theKremlin. Initially, some media outlets complained that the Russian Government was attempting to cover up the accident, drawing parallels to the submarineKursk disaster; some went as far as comparing the event to theChernobyl disaster, even though the incident was reported to the public one day after it took place.[41]
Some journalists speculated that the men who died had sacrificed themselves to save the vessel by sealing themselves into the compartment where the fire broke out.[25] On 7 July 2019 at the sailors' funeral, Captain Sergei Pavlov, an aide to the Russian Navy head, proclaimed the crew "prevented a planetary catastrophe".[42] TheNorwegian Radiation Protection Authority stated that they had been notified by the Russians of a gas explosion aboard the vessel, though Russian authorities denied this.[43]
On 4 July, it was announced that the fire had originated in the battery compartment. Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu also said that the submarine was nuclear-powered, but that the reactor had been isolated from the fire.[44] According to Shoygu, the submarine could be repaired and returned to service.[45]
On 5 July, four members were posthumously awarded Hero of Russia while ten members were posthumously awardedOrder of Courage.[46]
The following sailors were killed in the 1 July 2019 incident:[47][48]
Captain 1st Rank
Denis Dolonskiy, The commanding officer of the submarine, Hero of Russia, awarded two Orders of Courage (including one posthumously),Order of Naval Merit[48]
Konstantin Ivanov, awarded two Orders of Courage (one posthumously), Order of Military Merit
Andrey Voskresenskiy, Hero of Russia (posthumously), three Orders of Courage, Order of Military Merit. He was a son-in-law of the Chief ofSosnovy Bor Naval Training Centre for Nuclear Submarine CrewsCounter admiralVladimir Bederdinov
Konstantin Somov, Hero of Russia (posthumously), three Orders of Courage
Denis Oparin, Hero of Russia (posthumously), Order of Courage. He was a son of the chief of the submarine division that included Losharik, Alexander Oparin
Vladimir Abankin, awarded two Orders of Courage (one posthumously)
Nikolay Filin, test pilot of military deep-diving crewedsubmersibles, Hero of Russia (2018), awarded four Orders of Courage (including one posthumously),Order of Military Merit[48]
Captain 2nd Rank
Alexander Avdonin, awarded two Orders of Courage (one posthumously)
Dmitriy Solovyov, Hero of Russia (posthumously)
Sergey Danilchenko, awarded two Orders of Courage (one posthumously)
Captain 3rd Rank
Viktor Kuzmin, awarded Order of Courage (posthumously)
Vladimir Sukhinichev, awarded Order of Courage (posthumously)
Other Crew
Lieutenant CaptainMikhail Dubkov, awarded Order of Courage (posthumously)
Lieutenant Colonel of Medical ServiceAlexandr Vasilyev, awarded Order of Courage (posthumously)
Forensic investigation has shown that the fire started with a massive explosion in the submarine's battery compartment. Burning batteries fuelled the fire despite the best efforts of the crew.Losharik was designed to usesilver-zinc batteries made inUkraine. After the worsening ofRussia–Ukraine relations caused by theWar in Donbas, the batteries were substituted withlithium-ion batteries produced by Saint Petersburg company Rigel (Russian:Ригель) that were certified for use in submarines. Investigators are checking whether the safety testing of those batteries was sufficient. The other hypotheses include unexpected loads on the batteries caused by ashort circuit somewhere on the submarine, or sabotage.[51][52] Due to its unique top secret design, and possibly secretive mission, the Russian government has been tight-lipped about the incident, as have the American and Norwegian governments who may have surveilled the incident.[15]
Major repair work on the submarine was reported to be underway in 2020.[53]The submarine had been expected to remain out of service until 2024 or 2025,[54][55] though in 2025 it was reported that the commencement of post-refit may commence post-repair sea trials may begin in 2025.[56]
^The Poseidon nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle previously was known as the Canyon or Status-6. The torpedo, which was developed by the Rubin design bureau in St. Petersburg, is about 24 meters long with a diameter of 2 (estimated). The nuclear propulsion system is a small 8 megawatt liquid metal cooled reactor, which allows it to maintain a cruising speed of about 30 knots - equal to 55 km/h, with subsequent acceleration to 70 knots - equal to 130 km/h (early estimates of a maximum speed of 100 knots were later refuted).[22]
^Sutton, H I (19 October 2019)."Spy Subs- Project 10831 Losharik".www.hisutton.com (published 17 October 2019).Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved7 May 2021.
^Unknown (13 July 2019)."Russia Military Analysis".www.russianmilitaryanalysis.wordpress.com (published 3 July 2019).Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved7 April 2021.
^Unknown (13 April 2018)."Les troupes des abysses".www.rusnavyintelligence.com (in French) (published 13 April 2018).Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved7 May 2021.
^Meyer, Henry and Kravchenko, Stepan K., Bloomberg News. (8 July 2019). "Stricken Russian Nuke Sub Crew Prevented 'Planetary Catastrophe'".MSN websiteArchived 9 July 2019 at theWayback Machine Retrieved 8 July 2019.
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