Soviet submarine K-11
Encyclopedia
K-11 was a Soviet November-class
November class submarine
The Project 627 class submarine was the Soviet Union's first class of nuclear-powered submarines. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization used the standard radio communication phonetic alphabet to denote submarine classes...
(Project 627A) nuclear-powered attack submarine that had two reactor accidents during loading of the nuclear reactor core in Severodvinsk
Severodvinsk
Severodvinsk is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina River, west of Arkhangelsk. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . Municipally, it is incorporated as Severodvinsk Urban Okrug. The city was founded as...
on 7 and 12 February 1965. Reasons for the accidents included nonobservance of operating instructions by those participating in the lift of the reactor cover and the mistaken decision to continue refueling after the first accident. There were no fatalities but those accidents (ejection of radioactive steam and inappropriate fire extinguishing methods on 12 February) caused an unsafe release of radiation into the environment and nearby shipyard area. Seven men were treated for exposure to radiation. The reactor compartment holding the two damaged reactors was removed, partially decontaminated and sunk in Abrosimov Bay (east coast of Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya , also known in Dutch as Nova Zembla and in Norwegian as , is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the north of Russia and the extreme northeast of Europe, the easternmost point of Europe lying at Cape Flissingsky on the northern island...
) in the Kara Sea
Kara Sea
The Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya....
in 1966. A new reactor compartment was installed and the submarine continued to perform her duties from August 1968 (performed 5 long-range cruises in 1968–1970 including patrol missions in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, 4 long-range cruises in 1975–1977, 5 long-range cruises in 1982–1985) until decommissioning on 19 April 1990. K-11 passed the milestone of 220,179 miles traveled in 1988. The submarine has been laid up in Gremikha Bay
Ostrovnoy
Ostrovnoy , also known as Murmansk-140 , is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Population: The first Naval base was established here in 1915. There is no rail link to Ostrovnoy and the settlement is reachable by coastal ship, helicopter or small plane in winter.-References:...
since of 2000.