‘The Entire Crew May Have Suffocated’: How China Lost an Attack Submarine

What you need to know: In 2003, Chinese submarine 361, a Type 035G ship, suffered a fatal mechanical failure during an exercise, killing all 70 crew members.

– The submarine, part of an aging fleet, was later recovered from Chinese waters, but details about the incident remain scarce.

Experts suspect a faulty diesel generator may have depleted the oxygen supply, causing suffocation. Alternatively, a carbon monoxide leak could have been responsible.

– Although it is one of China’s deadliest peacetime maritime disasters, the exact cause remains unclear due to Beijing’s lack of transparency.

The Mystery of Submarine 361: China’s Deadly Sea Disaster of 2003

In 2003, a Chinese Type 035 submarine, identified as Submarine 361, suffered a mechanical failure during an exercise, killing all 70 crew members. The submarine, part of an aging fleet that was considered obsolete in the early 2000s, was later recovered from Chinese waters.

Beijing provided limited information, but experts speculate that the disaster was likely caused by a faulty diesel generator that caused suffocation due to a lack of oxygen or a leak of toxic gases.

The exact cause remains unclear due to the Chinese government’s lack of transparency regarding the incident.

In 2003, a Chinese Type 035 submarine suffered a mechanical failure that would result in one of the country’s worst peacetime military disasters. All 70 crew members on board the submarine died during an exercise.

The ship, identified as Submarine 361, was recovered days later from Chinese territorial waters east of the Neichangshan Islands.

Introducing U-Boat 361

Submarine 361 was developed as a Type 035G ship, a subtype manufactured between 1990 and 1999. Twelve Type 035G boats have been designed to have a range of capabilities including noise reduction and more powerful weapons.

These aging vessels were considered outdated in the early 2000s, and Chinese officials some reportedly referred to the improved variants as “new wine in an old bottle.”

The accident

Immediately after the accident, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the submarine was “training in our territorial waters east of Changshan Mountains and all 70 officers and soldiers on board were killed due to a mechanical failure,” without giving further details.

The spokesman simply said: “U-boat 361 was a great loss for the People’s Navy.” We express our deep condolences to all officers and soldiers of the submarine who unfortunately lost their lives while carrying out training tasks and to their families “We express our sincere condolences to the officers and soldiers who died.”

What really happened? Danger of suffocation is possible

Beijing is not known for its transparency, so a more detailed analysis of the U-boat 361 disaster was not expected. However, a common theory surrounding the event is that the submarine’s onboard diesel generator malfunctioned and may have used up all remaining oxygen.

If this is true, the submarine crew probably suffocated at their posts before even realizing the danger.

Other experts have speculated that a toxic gas, possibly carbon monoxide, may have leaked from the ship’s diesel engines, which also may have caused asphyxiation.

Without a thorough and transparent investigation into the tragic submarine 361 incident, we may never know why the ship’s 70 crew members died.

About the author: Maya Carlin, defense expert

Maya CarlinNational security writer at The National Interest, is an analyst at the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She is featured in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.

Image credit: Creative Commons.