Commentary: Responding to emergencies with no margin for error, submariners face huge challenges at sea

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Dealing with 12 hours a day on watch and the need for high operational readiness, submariners have a hazardous career, says James Goldrick.

Maintenance and verification standards have to be as high as the most complex aircraft, for the same reason. There is little margin for error underwater or in the air.

Doing such work either requires a new submarine operator to seek the assistance of bigger, more established submarine operator navies or make considerable investment in its own infrastructure. They know they must endure long periods on patrol with no access to the outside world. This applies not only to communications but even exposure to sunlight and fresh air.

Yet, fatigue is something that must be managed. A submarine’s commander must ensure the limits of human endurance are not exceeded, as they can be in a long patrol. This may be what happened to KRI Nanggala, found at more than 800m below the sea surface, though we should wait for investigations to produce definitive findings.British nuclear submarine HMS Ambush making an unscheduled stop in Gibraltar due to a sustained damage to its conning tower after hitting a vessel.

Weapons can also malfunction. An exploding torpedo caused the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk in 2000, killing 118.

 

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