Water Ship Down?

[waltky]

Another Thresher incident?...

Argentine Navy looking for sub that's been radio silent for 2 days
Nov. 17, 2017 -- Authorities said Friday they are trying to communicate with an Argentine Navy submarine that broke contact off Northern Patagonia this week, with 44 crew members on board.

The navy mounted a search for the vessel, which officials said lost radio contact on Wednesday. "The latest official and reliable information is that the submarine has not yet been found," naval spokesman Enrique Balbi said. Balbi emphasized that the sub is not considered lost. "To be lost you have to look for him and not find him," he said.

The ARA San Juan submarine broke contact this week off Argentina's southern coast, officials said Friday. The crew of 44 has not communicated in 48 hours.​

The United States, Britain and Canada have offered to help Argentina locate the missing vessel with boats and satellites. "The Armada is carrying out operations to resume communications with the submarine ARA 'San Juan,'" the Argentine Navy tweeted.

Officials also said aircraft and ships are searching in the area of the submarine's last known position. Some relatives of the crew members are waiting at the base for updates. Admiral Gabriel González, head of the Mar del Plata naval base, said the submarine has enough food and oxygen for the crew to survive for days. "We are at a loss of communications, we are not talking about an emergency," he said.

Argentine Navy looking for sub that's been radio silent for 2 days

 

[strollingbones]

National Geographic: Major Submarine Disasters -- Thresher

 

[Marion Morrison]

Could be the Kraken.

 

[Moonglow]

I hope Velveteen rabbit is okay...

 

[Marion Morrison]

I hope Velveteen rabbit is okay...

I remember that! Somebody found it like 25 years later.

 

[waltky]

U.S. sendin' Navy's Poseidon Aircraft to Search for Argentine Submarine...

Navy's Poseidon Aircraft to Aid in Search for Argentine Submarine
18 Nov 2017 - The submarine, with 44 sailors on board, was last heard from on Wednesday, 268 miles off the Argentine coast.

The U.S. Navy announced Friday it will deploy its P-8A Poseidon maritime aircraft to assist in the search for the ARA San Juan, a missing Argentine submarine with 44 crew members on board. The submarine was last heard from Wednesday from the southern Argentine sea, 268 miles from the Patagonian coast. It was headed to the coastal city of Mar del Plata in Buenos Aires province, Reuters reported.

A P-8A Poseidon aircraft completes a flare launch during a countermeasures test over the Atlantic Test Range.​

Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told Reuters the operation was officially upgraded to search-and-rescue status Friday. But poor weather conditions have made it difficult for the Navy to locate the missing vessel, Reuters reported. The P-8A Poseidon is expected to aid in the search because its technology allows it "to support a wide range of missions over large bodies of water, including sub-surface search-and-rescue operations," a Navy statement said. The U.S. also has offered to fly the NASA P-3 explorer aircraft to help in the search, Reuters reported.

Other countries offering assistance include Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, United Kingdom and South Africa. "We share their concern and that of all Argentines," President Mauricio Macri tweeted, according to Reuters. "We are committed to using all national and international resources necessary to find the ARA San Juan submarine as soon as possible."

Navy's Poseidon Aircraft to Aid in Search for Argentine Submarine | Military.com

See also:

Satellite Signals Offer Hope in Hunt for Missing Argentine Sub
19 Nov 2017 | Argentina's defense ministry said it detected seven satellite signals that may be an attempt by the submarine to resume contact.

Hopes of finding survivors from a missing Argentine submarine with 44 crew members on board have been revived after the navy said it had detected what could be distress calls. There has been no contact with the ARA San Juan since early Wednesday, prompting Buenos Aires to launch an air and sea search with help from countries including Brazil, Britain, Chile, Uruguay and the United States. The search has, however, been complicated by stormy conditions, Argentine navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said on Saturday.

The Argentine navy submarine ARA San Juan has been missing since Nov. 15 with 44 sailors on board.​

However, the defense ministry said it had detected seven satellite-transmitted signals that may be an attempt by the submarine to resume contact. The signals were received at 10:52 am (1352 GMT) and 3:42 pm (1842 GMT) on various naval bases with help from U.S. satellite communication experts, but they did not lock in, thus preventing a full connection. "Right now, we are working to pinpoint the exact location of what is emitting the signals," presuming that it could be the missing sub, the ministry said.

Early Sunday, the U.S. Southern Command said it was sending a second Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft to join the search. The Florida-based plane and a crew of 21 are to reach Argentina later in the day. A NASA P-3 research aircraft is already participating in the search, Southern Command said. The California-based Undersea Rescue Command earlier said it was deploying two underwater craft designed to rescue trapped submarine sailors at different depths, as well as a remotely-operated underwater robot known as an ROV.

- 'Got to be afloat' -

 

[waltky]

Possible explosion aboard missing Argentine sub...

Possible explosion detected near missing Argentine sub's last known location
November 23, 2017 - The Argentine navy raised the possibility on Thursday that a navy submarine missing in the South Atlantic suffered an explosion, heightening concerns over the fate of the 44 crew members.

An abnormal sound detected underwater by an international agency on the morning of Nov. 15, around the time that the ARA San Juan sent its last signal and in the same area, was “consistent with an explosion,” navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters. The navy did not have enough information to say what the cause of the explosion could have been or whether the vessel might have been attacked, Balbi said. He was commenting on information the navy received on Thursday from the Comprehensive nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), an international body that runs a global network of listening posts designed to check for secret atomic blasts.

The Vienna-based agency, which has monitoring stations equipped with devices including underwater microphones that scan the oceans for sound waves, said in a statement that two of its stations had detected an unusual signal near where the submarine went missing. But the agency was more guarded about whether this was caused by an explosion. A huge sea and air hunt is being conducted for the San Juan, a German-built, diesel-electric powered submarine that was launched in 1983, as crew members’ relatives wait anxiously for news more than a week after the vessel disappeared. The relatives, camped out in a naval base in the coastal city of Mar del Plata, have been largely optimistic until now, but they shed tears and insulted authorities after being briefed on the news of the possible explosion. They were told about it before the public announcement.

Balbi said that the news of the abnormal sound was consistent with a separate report received Wednesday of an “acoustic anomaly” in the same area and around the same time. The San Juan was some 430 km (270 miles) off the Patagonian coast when it sent its last signal. “This is very important because it allows us to correlate and confirm the acoustic anomaly from the U.S. report yesterday,” Balbi said. “Here, we’re talking about a singular, short, violent, non-nuclear event, consistent with an explosion.” In Vienna, CTBTO hydroacoustic engineer Mario Zampolli said the signal his agency had detected, “could be consistent with an explosion but there is no certainty about this.” Speaking to Reuters, he agreed with Balbi’s description of the signal as unusual and short, adding that the cause was non-natural. The submarine was en route from Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, to Mar del Plata, some 400 km (250 miles) south of Buenos Aires, when it reported an electrical malfunction shortly before disappearing. The vessel had seven days of oxygen supply, meaning the crew would be running low if it had not been able to surface.

HOPE FADING

The news of the possible explosion prompted some family members to fear the worst, and many criticized the authorities’ response to the crisis. “They kept us here for a week. Why did they not tell us?” Itati Leguizamon, the wife of a crew member. “I do not have any more hope, it is over.” Some relatives have questioned authorities for letting the crew navigate on an aging submarine - criticism that has highlighted the armed forces’ dwindling resources since the end of a military dictatorship in the 1980s. Authorities have said the level of maintenance, not the age, was what mattered, and that the vessel was in good condition. It received a major mid-life upgrade in 2009, in which its four diesel engines and electric propeller engines were replaced, according to specialist publication Jane’s Sentinel. Earlier on Thursday, a U.S. embassy spokeswoman said an object detected by a U.S. Navy plane near the area where the submarine sent its last signal turned out not to be the missing vessel. The plane, a P-8A Poseidon, was one of dozens of Argentine and foreign boats and planes involved in the hunt.

Possible explosion detected near missing Argentine sub's last known location

See also:

Search for missing Argentine submarine reaches 'critical phase'
November 22, 2017 - The search for an Argentine navy submarine missing in the South Atlantic for one week reached a “critical phase” on Wednesday as the 44 crew on board could be running low on oxygen, a navy spokesman said.

Dozens of planes and boats were searching for the ARA San Juan, a mission that has plunged relatives of the sailors into an anguished wait for news and transfixed the South American country of 44 million people. If the German-built submarine, in service for more than three decades, had sunk or was otherwise unable to rise to the surface since it gave its last location on Nov. 15, it would be using up the last of its seven-day oxygen supply. “We are in the critical phase...particularly with respect to oxygen,” navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters. “There has been no contact with anything that could be the San Juan submarine.” Relatives of the crew members have gathered at a naval base in Mar del Plata, where the search is coordinated. Their concern grew as the hours ticked by.

The craft was probably on the seabed because the mechanism to surface either failed or was not activated by a crew member, naval investigator Fernando Morales told Reuters in a telephone interview. “If the captain stayed at the bottom because he thought it was more prudent to stay at the bottom, it’s one thing. But at this point we have to think that if he’s at the bottom, it’s because he could not emerge,” Morales said. In an evening news conference, Balbi said an unusual noise was detected on Nov. 15, near where the submarine last reported its position. He declined to say if the sound indicated an explosion or emergency on the vessel. Data on the noise were being analyzed, he added.

FAVORABLE WEATHER

Favorable weather allowed search boats to cover a greater area after being hampered by strong winds and waves for much of the past few days, Balbi said. Poor weather was expected to return on Thursday. Around 30 boats and planes and 4,000 people from Argentina, the United States, Britain, Chile and Brazil have joined the search for the submarine, which last transmitted its location about 480 km (300 miles) from the coast. Planes have covered some 500,000 square km (190,000 square miles) of the ocean surface, but much of the area has not yet been scoured by the boats. Argentines have been gripped by the search, with local newspapers placing photographs on their front pages of crew members’ relatives praying.

The case has dominated discussion on social media in Argentina, with the hash tags “Los 44” (The 44) and (navy spokesman) “Enrique Balbi” becoming trending topics on Twitter. Comparisons were made to the most recent major rescue operation in the region, when 33 miners in northern Chile were rescued in 2010 after 69 days trapped underground. The submarine was en route from Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, to the coastal city of Mar del Plata, some 400 km (250 miles) south of Buenos Aires, when it reported an electrical malfunction shortly before disappearing last week. The submarine was launched in 1983 and underwent maintenance in 2008 in Argentina. The disappearance has highlighted the dwindling resources and lack of training faced by the armed forces since the end of a military dictatorship in the early 1980s.

Possible explosion detected near missing Argentine sub's last known location

 

[waltky]

Water came down sub’s snorkel, caused battery short circuit...

Argentina: Water got in sub’s snorkel, caused short circuit
November 27,`7 — Water entered the snorkel of an Argentine submarine and caused one of its batteries to short circuit before the vessel went missing 12 days ago, a navy spokesman said Monday.

Hopes for survivors have been largely crushed by reports of an explosion detected near the time and place where the ARA San Juan was last heard from on Nov. 15. Since then, there have been no signs of the sub or debris despite an intensive multinational search. Experts have said the 44 sailors aboard had only enough oxygen to last up to 10 days if the sub remained intact but submerged. The navy said last week that before the submarine went missing, the captain reported an electrical problem in a battery compartment and the vessel was ordered to return to its base in the coastal city of Mar del Plata, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Buenos Aires.

Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters Monday that the captain said water had entered through the snorkel when the sub was charging batteries. The water went through the ventilation system to a battery connection tray in the prow and “caused a short circuit and the beginning of a fire, or smoke without flame,” he said. Balbi said the captain later communicated by satellite phone that the problem had been contained. “They had to electrically isolate the battery and continue sailing underwater to Mar del Plata using another battery circuit,” Balbi said. The San Juan, a German-built diesel-electric TR-1700 class submarine, was commissioned in 1985 and was most recently refitted in 2014.

A US Navy pressurized rescue module sits on the dock before being loaded on the Sophie Siem ship in Comodoro Rivadavia port, Argentina, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017. Argentine families of 44 crew members aboard a submarine that has been lost in the South Atlantic for seven days are growing increasingly distressed as experts say that the crew might be reaching a critical period of low oxygen on Wednesday.​

Some family members have denounced the navy’s response to the disappearance and the age and condition of the vessel. President Mauricio Macri has promised an investigation. The navy says more than a dozen countries are still helping search for the sub in area where the explosion was recorded about 270 miles (430 kilometers) off the coast of Argentina. Balbi said a Norwegian ship carrying the U.S. Navy’s underwater remotely operated vehicle and its pressurized rescue module was expected to arrive to the search zone later Monday.

Argentina: Water got in sub's snorkel, caused short circuit

 

[Two Thumbs]

It takes a certain amount of courage to crew a sub, for obvious reasons.

you are deep, out front and alone, so when something goes wrong, you have to fix or save yourself.


sinking in a sub is a horrible way to die.


My heart goes out to the crew and their families.

 

[whitehall]

Thresher incident? Who knew the Argentines even had a navy? The Thresher was a nuclear powered U.S. Submarine back in the early 60's The Argentines were still using Model T. diesel subs in the 21st century.

 

[waltky]

Argentina gives up on looking for survivors from missing sub...

Argentina no longer looking for survivors from missing sub
1 Dec.`17 — Argentina’s navy said Thursday that it is no longer looking for survivors among the 44 sailors aboard a submarine missing for 15 days, though a multinational operation will continue searching for the vessel.

Hopes of finding survivors had already dimmed because experts said the crew had only enough oxygen to last 7 to 10 days if the sub remained intact under the sea. The navy also had said an explosion was detected near the time and place where the ARA San Juan made its last contact with shore Nov. 15. Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said the rescue mission had “extended for more than twice what is estimated for a rescue.” “We’ve had 28 ships, nine aircraft, 4,000 people involved, 18 countries supporting,” he told reporters. “Despite the magnitude of these efforts, we’ve been unable to find the submarine.” Balbi said the search was no longer considered a rescue mission, but the hunt would go on for the missing sub.

Some relatives of the crew broke into tears after they received the news. “I don’t understand this arbitrary and unjustified decision,” Luis Tagliapietra, the father of 27-year-old crew member Alejandro Tagliapietra, told local TV. “It’s unusually cruel. Every day, it’s a new blow. I’m destroyed.” The navy has said the vessel’s captain reported that water entered the snorkel and caused one of the submarine’s batteries to short circuit. The captain later communicated by satellite phone that the problem had been contained. Some hours later, an explosion was detected near the time and place where the San Juan was last heard from. A navy spokesman said this week that the blast could have been triggered by a “concentration of hydrogen” caused by the battery problem reported by the captain.

The search for the San Juan has employed some of the latest technology in one of the largest efforts of its kind. So far, aircraft have flown some 557,000 nautical miles, while ships have searched more than a million nautical miles in the frigid South Atlantic, the navy said. A Norwegian ship carrying the U.S. Navy’s underwater remotely operated vehicle and its pressurized rescue module was returning to the Patagonian port of Comodoro Rivadavia to resupply before setting out again to search for the sub. The U.S. Navy also said Thursday that its Cable-operated Unmanned Recovery Vehicle 21 had been deployed to join the search efforts after Argentina shifted its focus to undersea assets capable of deep seafloor searches.

Some family members have denounced the navy’s response to the sub’s disappearance as well as the age and condition of the vessel. President Mauricio Macri has promised a full investigation. The San Juan, a German-built diesel-electric TR-1700 class submarine, was commissioned in the 1980s and was most recently refitted in 2014. During the $12 million retrofitting, the vessel was cut in half and had its engines and batteries replaced. Experts say refits can be difficult because they involve integrating systems produced by different manufacturers, and even the tiniest mistake during the cutting phase can put the safety of the ship and crew at risk.

At the sub’s home naval base in Mar del Plata, relatives were hit hard by Thursday’s announcement. Some hugged and fell on their knees sobbing near a fence crowded with blue-and-white Argentine flags, rosary beads and messages of support. Others took to social media to pay homage to their loved ones. “I stay with this image,” Jesica Gopar, said in a tweet that included a photo of her husband, submarine officer Fernando Santilli, smiling and holding their young son in his arms. “He’s the most beautiful being that God could have put on my path 13 years ago,” she wrote. “He’s a hero who must be recognized along with his 43 other crew members. I hope you didn’t suffer my love.”

Argentina no longer looking for survivors from missing sub