Remembering the Kursk Disaster, 25 Years Later

Moscow’s cover-up of the Kursk submarine incident seriously damaged Russian President Vladimir Putin’s prestige—and was even viewed by some as a “turning point” for modern Russia.

On August 12, 2000, 25 years ago, scientists at the Norwegian Seismic Institute recorded two explosions, with the second registering 3.4 on the Richter scale, enough to have required more than two tons of explosives. The same blast was picked up by the US Navy’s Victorious-class ocean surveillance ship USNS Loyal (T-AGOS-22). The spy ship was listening for transmissions from the Russian Navy’s Oscar II class Kursk, which was participating in a major naval exercise more than 200 miles away.

The Americans almost instantly knew that the sound could only mean one thing: the Russian nuclear-powered submarine had suffered a major catastrophe. In the relatively cordial days after the Cold War, the Americans and Europeans offered emergency assistance to the Russians. However, Moscow tried to take control of the narrative, even as it was losing control of the situation—with disastrous results.

About the Kursk Submarine

The Soviet and later Russian Navy has, unfortunately, seen more than its fair share of modern submarine disasters. But the loss of the Kursk 25 years ago was different.

Named after the July 1943 Battle of Kursk, the most significant tank engagement in history, the submarine was one of eleven nuclear-powered Project 949A Antey (Oscar II) cruise missile submarines built at Seveorvinsk. It was one of the five assigned to the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet. The other six were transferred to the Pacific Fleet, and while three more were planned, construction was eventually halted.

In August 2000, the boat was operating in the northern waters of the Barents Sea. It was set to take part in a major exercise, the first such naval maneuvers following the dissolution of the Soviet Union nine years earlier. The exercise involved four attack submarines, as well as the Northern Fleet flagship nuclear-powered battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy, along with numerous smaller craft.

At 11:28 local time, an explosion occurred as the crew was set to fire torpedoes. What exactly took place will probably never be known; according to subsequent Russian investigations, the most likely outcome was a faulty torpedo that exploded during the loading process, damaging the Kursk. Most of the 118 members of the crew were presumed to have been killed instantly.

The Kremlin’s Reaction Doomed the Kursk’s Crew

Confronted by the Norwegian acoustics reports, the Kremlin could not hide the fact that something had happened. It publicly acknowledged that there had been an accident. Moscow confirmed that the submarine had been allowed to drift to the bottom of the sea, roughly 103.6 meters (340 feet) deep. Fortunately, the submarine sunk in relatively shallow waters, and it was not impossible that survivors could be rescued; indeed, a total of 23 sailors were able to flee to a rear compartment of the Kursk, where they waited for rescue.

But Russia then pulled a page from the old Soviet-era playbook. It claimed the problems were minor and would be resolved internally, and refused any foreign offers of help—a reaction that likely doomed the survivors.

The subsequent Russian rescue attempts were farcical. The Russian Navy was slow to send down mini-submarines, which then made repeated but futile attempts to hook onto the Kursk‘s submarine escape hatch. Relatives of the crew held a vigil on the docks in the boat’s homeport in the vain hope that they would soon see their loved ones.

Matters were made worse as the Kremlin further tried to twist the story, suggesting the Kursk may have collided with a US Navy or Royal Navy boat in an attempt to redirect the outrage away from Moscow.

Finally, after a week of failed attempts, Russia asked for Norwegian divers to assist in the rescue operations. Although the divers were able to open the Kursk’s hatches within hours, it was too late to save anyone. All 23 of the surviving sailors had perished.

Soon after, Russian navy officials acknowledged that the crew members who survived the initial blast could have been alive for at least three days. However, an “official investigation” later stated that all would have died of carbon monoxide poisoning within eight hours. Most experts agree that the Kremlin further tried to deflect blame.

In the two and a half decades since the incident, Moscow has been accused of covering up the fact that its response resulted in the unnecessary deaths of the crew.

Beyond proving incapable of rescuing the crew, Russia was unable to recover the wreck; instead, it needed assistance from the Dutch marine salvage companies Smit International and Mammoet. It was the largest salvage operation of its type ever accomplished, yet it took the Mammoet-Smit International Consortium just over 15 hours and cost around $65 million. In the end, Kursk was lifted on steel cables lowered from a Giant 4 barge and put in clamps under it, while its protruding conning tower and tail fins tightly fitted into holes carved in the vessel.

A Torpedo Explosion Was to Blame for the Disaster

After the Kursk‘s wreckage was recovered, the explosion was ultimately traced to one of the boat’s Type-65-76A torpedoes. Though that weapon has been described as being powerful enough to destroy an aircraft carrier with a single hit, the Soviet Union inexplicably designed the torpedo to run on hydrogen peroxide fuel, which is highly volatile and requires careful handling.

Installing the weapon on a submarine was a disaster waiting to happen.

The situation was exacerbated by reports that the crew had not received adequate training to handle the torpedoes or the fuel.

Conspiracy Theories Have Swirled Since the Submarine Sank 

Although the forward section of the boat had been blown apart, indicating that no collision had occurred, in the years that followed the Kursk accident, conspiracy theories gained traction that the West had played a role in the submarine’s destruction—and was attempting to cover up its involvement. Russian media even reported that two US submarines, as well as a British sub, had been spotted in the area near the Russian naval exercise when the Kursk disaster occurred. US officials have acknowledged that an American submarine was in the area, but denied that it collided with the Kursk.