NEW DELHI – India’s first nuclear-missile submarine has been out of order,or “out of commission” for two years thanks to a small ‘human’ error.
The $2.9 billion INS Arihant went out of commission just days after it wasintroduced to the Indian Navy’s fleet.
According to The Hindu’s report, Arihant suffered ‘major damage’ due towhat Navy sources are calling a ‘human error.’
Internal investigations have revealed that one of the vessel’s externalhatches remained unlocked when it submerged, which allowed water to floodinto the submarine’s propulsion compartment and destroy the equipment.
“Water rushed in as a hatch on the rear side was left open by mistake,” thereport said, adding that the incident happened in February 2017, shortlyafter the submarine’s launch.
Since then, the nuclear-submarine “has been undergoing repairs and cleanup,” said the paper.
Besides other repair work, the authorities are getting many pipes cut openand replaced.
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While it’s hard to tell how major a mess-up this is, according to KyleMizokami, the author of Popular Mechanics:
Indian authorities ordered the pipe replacement because they likely feltthat pipes exposed to corrosive seawater couldn’t be trusted again,particularly pipes that carry pressurized water coolant to and from theship’s 83-megawatt nuclear reactor.
For context, a submarine assigned to Britain’s Royal Navy narrowly avoideda complete reactor meltdown in 2012 after the power sources for its coolantsystem failed.
The incident did not only cause an international embarrassment but alsoraised strategic concerns for the Indian Armed Forces.
