Senate reviews an all-nuclear US Navy to flee rising crude prices
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Nuclear USA
The USS Enterprise, the US Navy’s first nuclear powered aircraft carried, which is powered by eight nuclear reactors.
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And while the United States has managed to steer clear of reactor accidents at sea, the Soviet and Russian Navy have not been so fortunate.
The US defense authorisation bill, which was passed by Congress’ lower house last week, the House of Representatives, seeks to fund the expansion of the Navy so that all new major vessels, from destroyers, Aircraft carriers, battle cruisers and submarines are powered by nuclear reactors.
The bill is currently before the senate for consideration and would establish nuclear power for naval vessels as the official “policy of the United States” to build all further heavy vessels as nuclear powered. New nuclear powered submarines and cruisers are already under construction, the US Navy confirmed through a spokesman.
Two shipbuilders are currently certified by the US Navy to construct nuclear-powered vessels, though the spokesman would not confirm which two are carrying out the current construction.
The new policy that the Defense Department is trying to push through is predicated on fears of rising oil prices.
With prices per barrel on world markets already setting daily records above $90, a recent study by the navy concluded that life-cycle cost for even a medium sized vessel run by nuclear power is cheaper than running a similar vessels on conventional power, the US Navy said, even though nuclear vessels cost an estimated $600-$800 million more to build.
The study was based on the cost of oil fluctuating between $75 and $225 a barrel. “We’ve already passed that lower mark and there is no sign of anything stopping the price from going up and up,” the navy spokesman said.
House of Representatives and Senate negotiators are in disagreement over the policy, noted the Congressional aide, and some have suggested the US Navy would not be able to carry out the mandate to go all nuclear from here on out even though the perceived advantages of the Navy study indicate an overall long terms lower cost for keeping a nuclear fleet at sea.
The Navy and adherents of the bill note that nuclear powered vessels are able to stay a sea for much longer periods of time without refueling, and that nuclear propulsion is necessary for operations conducted under the polar ice cap, a major and growing point of territorial contest between Russia, the United States and other countries laying claim to oil reserves beneath the polar sea bed.
A History of the US nuclear fleet
The United States currently has some 100 nuclear submarines in operation, according to the London-based World Nuclear Association, an organisation that supports the use of nuclear power. The fleet was, by most estimates, at least 125 vessels larger in 1989, at the end of the Cold War, but have been taken out of service by bilateral arms agreements with Russia.
The United States also maintains 11 nuclear powered aircraft carriers and nine nuclear powered battle cruised. As of early 2005, the latest year for which figures are available, the US Navy says there are a total of 103 reactors aboard ships and submarines in operation by the United States.
US experience with nuclear powered vessels began in the late 1940s and culminated in the graving of the USS Nautilus, a Skate-class submarine, which put to sea in 1955 as the United State’s first nuclear naval vessel and represented the first nuclear powered submarine in the world.
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| The USS Nautilus returns for retirement in Groton, Connecticut in May 2002 after 47 years of service. |
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The USS Nautilus led to the parallel development of further Skate-class submarines, powered by single pressurised water reactors, and an aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, powered by eight reactor units in 1960. A cruiser, USS Long Beach, followed in 1961 and was powered by two of these early units. Remarkably, the Enterprise remains in service, according to World Nuclear Association reports.
By 1962 the US Navy had 26 nuclear submarines operational and 30 under construction.
The technology was shared with Britain, while French, Russian and Chinese developments proceeded separately.
After the Skate-class vessels, reactor development proceeded and in the USA a single series of standardised designs was built by both Westinghouse and GE, one reactor powering each vessel. Rolls Royce built similar units for Royal Navy submarines and then developed the design further to the PWR-2.
Russian sub development accident-prone in comparison to US
Russia developed both PWR and lead-bismuth cooled reactor designs, the latter not persisting. Eventually four generations of submarine PWRs were utilised, the last entering service in 1995 in the Severodvinsk class.
The largest submarines are the 26,500 ton Russian Typhoon-class, powered by twin 190 megawatt PWR reactors, though these were superseded by the 24,000 ton Oscar-II class with the same power plant.
The most famous of this class of submarines was the Kursk, which sank during a training exercise in the Barents Sea after an explosion in its torpedo compartment. Though some crew members survived the initial blast, all 118 crew members died while Russia botched rescue attempts for a week before summoning international help.
Compared with the excellent safety record of the US nuclear navy, early Soviet endeavours resulted in a number of serious accidents - five where the reactor was irreparably damaged, and more resulting in radiation leaks. However, by the third generation of marine PWRs in the late 1970s safety of Russian submarine reactors has somewhat improved.
US sub accidents – operating blind
US nuclear submarines have more often fallen victim to navigational errors resulting in groundings and collisions or have been lost altogether at sea.
The USS August may be the only US nuclear submarine to have collided with a Soviet sub, though the official US report is that the Augusta was damaged by an internal explosion. The Soviet Navy claims that the Augusta was trailing the Soviet Yankee Class submarine, the K-219, off the coast of Bermuda on October 3rr 1986.
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| The Soviet K-219 submarine, which the soviet navy claims was struck by the USS Augusta. The US Navy maintains that the incident never took place. |
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The K-219 sank the same day, suffering an explosion and fire in a missile tube. The seal in a missile hatch cover failed, allowing seawater to leak into the missile tube and react with residue from the missile's liquid fuel. The US still denies the collision, saying the K-219 had previously experienced a similar casualty - one of its missile tubes was already disabled and welded shut.
Three sailors were killed outright in the explosion on the K-219 October 3rd explosion, according to the Soviet Navy. The vessel surfaced to permit its twin nuclear reactors to be shut down, which was only accomplished when a 19-year old enlisted seaman, Sergei Preminin, sacrificed his life to secure one of the onboard nuclear reactors by hand, trapped in the engine compartment. Captain Second Rank Igor Britanov was ordered to have the ship towed by a Soviet freighter back to Gadzhievo, her home port, some 7,000 kilometers away.
When the Augusta came back to port at Groton Connecticut, it was apparent, according to retired US naval officials familiar with the incident, that the boat had collided with something - if not the K-219, then a Russian Delta-I ballistic missile submarine the Augusta log indicated it had been trailing.
it is suggested that the Augusta had been trailing the Delta-I, and that the Augusta was being trailed in turn by a Russian Victor class submarine. If abrupt maneuvers were made, Augusta could have collided with the Delta. Photographs exist of a Delta submarine with a large dent in its starboard bow, which the Soviet Navy identified as K-279. The Augusta required $3 million in repairs the bow and sonar sphere located in the sub’s nose.
Running aground
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| The USS Scorpion, which went missing in the summer of 1963. |
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On January 8, 2005, the USS San Francisco Los Angeles Class nuclear submarine ran full speed into an underwater mountain at a depth of 153 metres near the US territorial holding of Guam in the Pacific. The accident was so serious that the vessel was almost lost. Crew members’ accounts indicate a furious struggle to keep the sub buoyant.
The collision injured 23 crewmen, and Machinist's Mate Second Class Joseph Allen Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio, died on January 9th from head injuries. The San Francisco’s forward ballast tanks and sonar dome were severely damaged, but her inner hull was not breached and there was no damage to her nuclear reactor. The vessel was brought to Guam for repairs, but according to Retired US Navy Captain James Shaw, now of the Sandia Laboratories, the San Francisco is slated for decommissioning.
On October 25th 2003 the USS Hartford Los Angeles Class nuclear ran aground while performing routine maneuvers in the harbour of La Maddalena, Sardinia. Approximately $9 million worth of damage were done to the submarine, and it was out of service for seven months.
An investigation into the accident revealed that basic navigation errors combined with equipment failures were to blame for the submarine running into the rocky shallows.
Collisions with Japanese vessels
In February 2001, the USS Greenville, a Los Angeles Class nuclear submarine – which suffered two collisions and a grounding in less than two years - collided with the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru, near Oahu, Hawaii. Nine crewmembers of the Ehime Maru died, and the USS Greenville was damaged.
Seven months later, in August, the Greeneville ran aground while entering port in Saipan on a routine Western Pacific Deployment. The boat's underside, rudder, and secondary propulsion motor suffered minor damage
Six months later, on January 27th, 2002, when the USS Greenville was again out to sea, it collided with a US submarine, the USS Ogden during a personnel transfer off the coast of Oman, opening a 130 by 460 milimetre hole in one of Ogden’s fuel tanks and spilling several thousand gallons of fuel. After the collision, both vessels left the area under their own power.
Another Japanese vessel, the Mogamigawa tanker, was struck by the USS Newport News Los Angeles Class in the Straights of Hormuz in January 2007. Both vessels suffered damage but made port under their own power.
A third Japanese vessel was struck by the USS George Washington on April 9th 1981.
The USS George Washington surfaced underneath the Nissho Maru in the East China Sea about 110 miles south-southwest of Sasebo, Japan. The 2350-ton Japanese freighter sank in about 15 minutes. Two Japanese crewmen were lost; thirteen were rescued. The submarine suffered minor damage to its sail.
Lost at sea
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| The USS Scorpion, which the US Navy lost track of in 1963. |
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The US Navy has also lost two nuclear subs at sea, both during peace time operations. The first was the USS Thresher, which was crushed during deep-sea diving tests off Cape Cod on April 9th 1963. All 129 crew members were lost.
The USS Scorpion, a Skipjack Class nuclear submarine was lost during manouevers in the Mediterranean Sea. A large naval and public search was launched for the vessel on May 20th 1963 when non-descript distress signals were received in Greece. No evidence of the submarine ever turned up.
The USS Scorpion was listed missing on June 5th 1963 and struck from the Naval register on June 30. The US Navy has never come forth with an official cause for the USS Scorpion’s loss.
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