Project 210, Project 10831 or AS-31 (russian: АС-31), nicknamed ''Losharik'' ( rus, Лошарик, p=lɐˈʂarʲɪk), is a Russian deep-diving nuclear powered submarine. 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. stands for (), from the Russian naval term , 'nuclear deepwater station'. The submarine is also known as AS-12, but this number is assigned to another ship.

History and features

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 the , ( (GUGI)), reporting to the Russian Defence Ministry. Losharik interno

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. 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 depth in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

in 2012 and is capable of being carried by a modified

Delta III-class submarine The Delta III-class submarine, Soviet designation Project 667BDR ''Kaľmar'' (Squid), is a large ballistic missile submarine operated by the Russian Navy. Like other previous s, the Delta III class is a double hulled design, with a thin low magne ...

. The vessel has been described as a "spy submarine" that could possibly be used to tap into or sever underwater telecommunications cables. 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 a ''

Top Gear Russia ''Top Gear Russia'' (russian: Top Gear: Русская версия, lit=Top Gear: Russian Version, Top Gear: Russkaya versiya) was a Russian motoring television series that ran on Ren-TV, and was based on the British program ''Top Gear'' produc ...

'' photo-shoot in

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

. The nickname ''Losharik'' comes from the vessel's multi-spherical hull and was taken from a character in the Soviet animated film ''

Losharik ''Losharik'' (russian: Лошарик) is a 1971 Soviet animated film. It was directed by , with the screenplay by Gennady Tsyferov and Genrikh Sapgir. ''Losharik'' tells the story of a circus animal composed of brightly coloured juggling ba ...

'', a toy horse consisting of small spheres. The word ''losharik'' is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words The

NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform man ...

for this submarine is NORSUB-5. The vessel was referred to in a

United States Northern Command United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for non-military authorities in the U.S., and protect ...

briefing as a "dark target" whose activities should be tracked. The Project 09852 modified Oscar-class submarine ''Belgorod'', has been specially refitted in order to transport ''Losharik'', in support of GUGI operations.

2019 fire

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. Seven of those who died held the rank of first rank captain and two were recipients of the

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

award. Submarine commander Denis Dolonsky was among those killed. 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. In comparison, submarine ''

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

'' 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. Vladimir Putin and Sergey Shoigu (2019-07-02)

Vladimir Putin and Sergey Shoigu (2019-07-02)

The fire broke out at around 8:30 p.m. MT, reportedly at the depth of , and was extinguished by the crew. Fishermen in Ura Bay reported that they saw a submarine surface rapidly at around 9:30 p.m. and meet a navy ship and two tugs. ''Losharik'' was later towed to the Russian Northern Fleet base at

Severomorsk Severomorsk (russian: Северомо́рск), known as Vayenga () until April 18, 1951, is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is located on the coast o ...

where five survivors were hospitalised with smoke poisoning and concussions. 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. Initial reports indicated that ''Losharik'' 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. Later reports disagree stating that ''Losharik'' 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), or in the process of docking with the mother submarine which was successfully completed despite the fire. 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. 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. Other sources seem to suggest Solovyev allegedly evacuated the sole civilian from Losharik. In total 5 crewmembers (allegedly all from Losharik) are believed to have survived the incident. In addition to the fire, at least one explosion occurred aboard ''Losharik'' during the incident. 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. One source states that the crew flooded Losharik. 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. 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. The engineering compartments containing the nuclear reactor were allegedly intact. The incident was the worst loss of life on a Russian submarine since the 2008 K-152 ''Nerpa'' accident which killed 20 men. The commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy Nikolai Yevmenov launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, and President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

sent Defense Minister

Sergey Shoygu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...

to monitor the investigation and report on the incident. On 2 July, Shoygu reported on the fire to Putin, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, at a meeting in the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...

. Initially, some media outlets complained that the Russian Government was attempting to cover up the accident, drawing parallels to the submarine ''Kursk'' disaster; some went as far as comparing the event to the

Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two n ...

, even though the incident was reported to the public one day after it took place. 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. 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". The

Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority ( no, Statens strålevern, abbreviated to NRPA) is a Norwegian public agency under the Ministry of Health and Care Services headquartered in Østerås, Bærum municipality, Greater Oslo Region. It works ...

stated that they had been notified by the Russians of a gas explosion aboard the vessel, though Russian authorities denied this. 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. According to Shoygu, the submarine could be repaired and returned to service. On 5 July, four members were posthumously awarded Hero of Russia while ten members were posthumously awarded

Order of Courage The Order of Courage may refer to: * , a state decoration of the partially recognized republic of Abkhazia * Order of Courage (Iran), a state decoration of Iran * Order of Courage (Russia) The Order of Courage (russian: Орден Мужес ...

Fatalities

The following sailors were killed in the 1 July 2019 incident: 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 *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 of

Sosnovy Bor Sosnovy Bor (russian: Сосно́вый Бор; lit. ''pine forest (copse)'') is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Amur Oblast As of 2010, one rural locality in Amur Oblast bears this name: * Sosnovy Bor, Amur Oblast, a '' sel ...

Naval Training Centre for Nuclear Submarine Crews Counter admiral Vladimir 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 manned

submersible A submersible is a small watercraft designed to operate underwater. The term "submersible" is often used to differentiate from other underwater vessels known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully self-sufficient craft, capable of i ...

s, Hero of Russia (2018), awarded four Orders of Courage (including one posthumously), Order of Military Merit 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 Captain Mikhail Dubkov, awarded Order of Courage (posthumously) *Lieutenant Colonel of Medical Service Alexandr Vasilyev, awarded Order of Courage (posthumously) All 14 seamen were buried in

Serafimovskoe Cemetery Serafimovskoe Cemetery (russian: Серафимовское кладбище) is a historic cemetery in northwestern Saint Petersburg, in Primorsky District, Saint Petersburg, Primorsky District. It was established to meet the need for the growi ...

, Saint Petersburg, Russia on 6 July 2019.

Cause of fire

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 use

silver-zinc batteries A silver zinc battery is a secondary cell that utilizes silver(I,III) oxide and zinc. Overview Silver zinc cells share most of the characteristics of the silver-oxide battery, and in addition, is able to deliver one of the highest specific ener ...

made in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. After the worsening of

Russia–Ukraine relations There are no diplomatic or bilateral relations between Ukraine and Russia. The two countries have been in a state of war since 24 February 2022. Following the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity in 2014, Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula was occupied by ...

caused by the

war in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, the batteries were substituted with

lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...

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 a

short circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circu ...

somewhere on the submarine, or sabotage. 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. Major repair work on the submarine was reported to be underway. The submarine may remain out of service until 2025.

References

External links

Project "Losharik"
an ''

Izvestiya ''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes i ...