China conceals the death of the latest nuclear submarine, - WSJ.

Chinese nuclear submarine sank in China

A serious maritime disaster occurred in China when a new Chinese nuclear submarine sank near the shipyard in Wuhan at the end of May - early June this year. The Chinese authorities still deny the fact of this event.

According to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources in the US government, the submarine, belonging to the new class of Zhou nuclear submarines, was in the final stages of fitting out at the Wuchang shipyard when the tragedy occurred. The causes of the incident are still unknown, as well as the fate of the crew. There is no information on whether there was nuclear fuel on board at the Time of the accident, which raises additional concerns about possible environmental consequences.

The first signs of the incident were noticed in the summer when former US Navy submarine officer Thomas Shugart pointed out unusual activity of floating cranes in commercial satellite images of the shipyard. Later, he suggested that these cranes were used for a rescue operation of the sunken submarine.

This submarine was built by China State Shipbuilding Corp. It was last seen at the dock on the Yangtze River at the end of May 2024, during the final preparations before going to sea.

US officials reported that they had not recorded any signs of the Chinese side conducting water or environmental analysis for radiation. However, experts believe that the risk of a radiation leak is likely low, as the submarine was not taken out to sea, and its reactors were not operating at full capacity.

It was previously reported that Australia would be supplied with nuclear submarines by the AUKUS countries.