- By Vaidika Thapa
- Wed, 25 Mar 2026 03:32 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A Soviet submarine with a nuclear reactor and two warheads is still submerged in the Norwegian Sea after a fire destroyed its rear section, killing 42 crew members in 1989. The nuclear submarine Komsomolets (K-278) sank in the sea after the incident and its wreck now lies 5,511 feet below the surface. Despite carrying a nuclear reactor and two warheads, it doesn’t possess much harm and is not even a cause of worry for scientists.
Built with titanium alloy for both its inner and outer hulls, the submarine was engineered to survive harsh conditions. The fire on April 7, 1989, destroyed its rear section. The nuclear material inside it has not harmed the ocean so far. Over the years, the Soviet Union and later Russia closely monitored the submarine to prevent any nuclear disaster. An expedition in 1994 discovered that the two nuclear warheads in the torpedo compartment were exposed to seawater.
Sunken Nuclear Submarine Leaks Radiation
Following the discovery, an immediate action was taken. Torpedo tubes were sealed with titanium patches, and other exposed areas were plated to prevent contamination. In 2019, scientists from Norway’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority and the Institute of Marine Research conducted a detailed survey of the wreck. They used remotely operated submersibles for their research and collected water around the submarine to test for radioactive isotopes.
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They also discovered minor leaks from a ventilation pipe and a nearby metal grill, almost the same location where Russian engineers had detected leakage decades earlier. The observation confirmed that radionuclides were escaping from the reactor and corrosion of the nuclear fuel was evident. However, the study did not find plutonium from the torpedo warheads in the surrounding water. This means that the titanium patches were still effective. Also, the dilution of radioactive material in the seawater meant there was no measurable impact on the marine environment.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, March 23. It concluded that the Soviet Union’s careful planning successfully prevented a major nuclear catastrophe.
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