China’s newest nuclear-powered submarine sunk at a Wuhan port – with the Communist Party trying to cover up the blunder for months.
The Zhou-class vessel plunged under water while being built with the gaffe first being discovered by US officials who were assessing satellite photos of Wuchang Shipyard.
The newly-built submarine, which features a distinctive X-shaped stern, is thought to have sank in late May or early June while undergoing final equipping tests for sea.
It is not known if any nuclear fuel was being carried at the the time of the sinking, but several experts have speculated it more than likely was, reported the Wall Street Journal.
US officials said Beijing is yet to sample the water for raised radiation levels and have not ruled out that any military personel or those working on board were killed.
Commander Ryan Ramsey, a retired nuclear-powered submarine captain in the Royal Navy told : ‘It will be a setback and it’s really embarrassing. But they are good at learning quickly and moving on.’
The retired naval officer also warned China’s rapid expansive of its military was threatening the West.
‘The pace that China is building at is incredible and the West isn’t keeping up with,’ Cdr Ramsey said.
Cranes were mobilised to salvage the sub, but it might require a major refit and will take months to clean with the electronics ‘full of water’.
A senior US defence official told The Wall Street Journal: ‘It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pierside.
‘In addition to the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the PLA’s internal accountability and oversight of China’s defence industry, which has long been plagued by corruption.’
Brent Sadler, a former submarine officer at Washington’s Heritage Foundation think tank, called the sinking ‘significant’ with it slowing down China’s plans to expand its nuclear submarine fleet.
China already has a substantial number of nuclear-powered submarines of its own. The Pentagon assessed in its 2020 China Military Power report that China has the largest navy in the world, with a battle force of some 350 ships and submarines, including more than 130 major surface combatants.
It comes just under a year since 55 Chinese sailors were feared dead after their nuclear submarine apparently got caught in a trap intended to ensnare British sub-surface vessels in the Yellow Sea.
According to a secret UK report the seamen died following a catastrophic failure of the submarine’s oxygen systems which poisoned the crew.
The captain of the Chinese PLA Navy submarine ‘093-417’ is understood to be among the deceased, as were 21 other officers.
Officially, China denied the incident took place. It also appeared that Beijing refused to request international assistance for its stricken submarine.
The UK report into the fatal mission read: ‘Intelligence reports that on 21st of August there was an onboard accident whilst carrying out a mission in the Yellow Sea.
‘Incident happened at 08.12 local resulting in the death of 55 crew members: 22 officers, 7 officer cadets, 9 petty officers, 17 sailors. Dead include the captain Colonel Xue Yong-Peng.
‘Our understanding is death caused by hypoxia due to a system fault on the submarine. The submarine hit a chain and anchor obstacle used by the Chinese Navy to trap US and allied submarines.
‘This resulted in systems failures that took six hours to repair and surface the vessel. The onboard oxygen system poisoned the crew after a catastrophic failure.’
Beijing dismissed speculation about the incident as ‘completely false’ while Taiwan had also denied internet reports.