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Russia is working on a multi-billion-dollar project to extract two nuclear submarines from their graveyard on the Arctic seabed. The project, which is being planned decades after the submarines sank, aims to address the fears that they could lead to radioactive waste in the water. The two submarines – K-27 and K-159 have been submerged for decades. Last year, Norway’s Bellona Foundation raised concerns about the threat posed to the environment by the two nuclear submarines. The two nuclear submarines “contain 1 million curies of radiation, or about a quarter of that released in the first month of the Fukushima disaster,” the op-ed piece by Bellona read. In the past, Russia had stated that it wanted to start the project to retrieve the submarines from their watery grave. However, the start of the Russia-Ukraine war resulted in no specific advancements being made in this regard. Retrieving the nuclear submarine from the Arctic floor According to a report by the Russian news portal RBC, Moscow had included funds in the draft federal budget for the recovery of the nuclear submarines from the Arctic seabed. The preparation is scheduled for 2026, with work set to begin in 2027. The K-27 was an experimental attack submarine built in the 1950s for the Soviet Union Navy. It had two reactors with a radical coolant system involving molten metal. The sub entered service in 1963, but within just three days of entering the sea, the vessel’s coolant system leaked radioactive gases into the engine room. In the next two decades, the then Soviet Union tried countless times to repair or replace the reactors, but the project did not bear fruit. It was decommissioned in 1979. The problem with the K-27 nuclear submarine was not diagnosed in a timely manner by the crew, and this led to its sinking, with at least nine of the crew members dying of radiation poisoning. The nuclear submarine was decommissioned in 1979, and the then Soviet Navy filled the reactor component with tar to seal it before sending it off to shallow waters in the Kara Sea. The shallowness keeps it exposed to tides and currents, which can break it apart and lead to contamination. However, the problem is that the sealant around the reactors was only meant to stave off leaks until 2032; the highly enriched fuel in the vessel could also generate an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction, leading to a release of radiation. K-159 vessel with 1,764 pounds of fuel The K-159 nuclear submarine was not meant to be sunk, but it too met a similar fate due to a faulty operation. The K-159 was also an attack submarine that suffered radiation leaks, contaminating the entire vessel. Throughout its life, the nuclear submarine needed constant repairs to function. The vessel was decommissioned in 1989 and left to rust for over a decade. In 2003, Russia received money from Baltic nations to dismantle the K-159 alongside other vessels. However, by the time the vessel’s hull had deteriorated severely due to rust, it sank while being towed to the shipyard. The incident resulted in nine Russian soldiers losing their lives, and 1,764 pounds (800 kilograms) of nuclear fuel went to the seabed 700 feet below, along with the nuclear submarine. Recovering a nuclear submarine from the seabed is expensive, but Dutch salvage company Mammoet had succeeded in lifting Russia’s Kursk vessel from the Barents Sea in 2002. It remains to be seen whether the Dutch firm will be helping Russia with resources or expertise now that the war with Ukraine is underway.
