China says ‘no information’ after US official claims PLA’s newest nuclear submarine sank in sea

China’s newest first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank at a shipyard near Wuhan between May and June this year, US intel officials said in a report.  

The incident comes at a time when China is toiling to expand its military capabilities and fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

The news of the vessel, identified as a Zhou-class submarine with a distinctive X-shaped stern, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The report said that the submarine was built by China State Shipbuilding Corp., a state-owned company. It was observed alongside a pier on the Yangtze River in late May when it was undergoing its final equipping before going to sea.

Back on March 10, a satellite image taken by Maxar Technologies also showed the Zhou-class submarine, with its signature x-shape tail, docked at the port. But, imagery collected later in June showed that it did not return to the pier.

As per the report, satellite photos from the site showed large floating cranes arrived in early June attempting to salvage the submarine from the bottom of the river.

China tried to hide 

The PLA Navy tried to conceal the loss, but Thomas Shugart, a former US submarine officer and an adjunct senior fellow at the Centre for a New American Security, was the first to notice the unusual activity at the shipyard.  

“I’ve never seen a bunch of cranes clustered around (one spot),” Shugart, who routinely studies satellite imagery of Chinese shipyards, was quoted as saying by CNN.

Shugart further said that as per the older satellite images of the same shipyard, there was a vessel that had larger size and distinctive tail, indicating a new class of submarine.

“Usually, those submarines, after they get launched, they’re there at the shipyard for several months in outfitting. And it wasn’t there anymore,” Shugart said.

“It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pierside," the WSJ report quoted a senior US defence official as saying.

“… the incident raises deeper questions about the PLA’s internal accountability and oversight of China’s defense industry, which has long been plagued by corruption,” the US defence official further said.

In an interview with WSJ, Shugart said, “Can you imagine a US nuclear submarine sinking in San Diego and the government hushes it up and doesn’t tell anybody about it? I mean, Holy Cow!"  

“The whole boat would be full of water. You’d have to clean out all the electronics. The electric motors may need to be replaced. It would be a lot of work,” Shugart further said.  

Submarine sinking will slow China’s plan to grow

Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank, and a retired US Navy nuclear submarine officer said the sinking of a new nuclear sub that was produced at a new yard will slow China’s plans to grow its nuclear submarine fleet.

“This is significant,” he added.

Did sub sinking lead to radiation 

American officials said they have not detected any indication that Chinese officials have sampled the water or nearby environment for radiation.  

There could also be a possibility that Chinese personnel were killed or injured when the sub sank, but US officials say they don’t know if there were casualties.

Shugart, during an interview with WSJ, said that the risk of a nuclear leak was likely to be low as the sub had not ventured out to sea and its reactors were probably not operating at a high power level.

‘Not familiar with situation’: China

A spokesperson from the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC,  

meanwhile said: “We are not familiar with the situation you mentioned and currently have no information to provide.”

In a report issued last year, the Pentagon said China, at the end of 2022, had 48 diesel-powered attack subs and six nuclear-powered attack subs.  

China has now been rampantly moving to diversify the production of nuclear-powered submarines. Production has been centered in the northeastern city of Huludao, but the Asian nation is now gradually moving at the Wuchang Shipyard near Wuhan to manufacture nuclear-powered attack submarines.

The Pentagon report said that China’s aim in developing new attack submarines, surface ships and naval aircraft is to counter efforts by the US and its partners to come to Taiwan’s aid during a conflict and to achieve “maritime superiority" within the first island chain, a string of territory from the Japanese archipelago through Taiwan and the Philippines to the South China Sea.