Bangladesh to buy first submarine

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Bangladesh is to acquire its first submarines to boost its naval power in the Bay of Bengal, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced Monday, only days after she signed the country’s largest defence deal.

“We have made a decision to add submarines with base facilities to Bangladesh’s navy very soon to make it a deterrent force,” Hasina said, as she commissioned the country’s first domestically produced warship at a base in the southern city of Khulna.

“We will build a modern three-dimensional navy for future generations which will be capable of facing any challenge during a war on our maritime boundary.” The announcement is the latest sign of Hasina’s willingness to spend heavily on defence, coming only nine days after she signed a $1 billion defence deal in Russia for the purchase of training fighters, helicopters and anti-tank missiles.

Analysts have said the deal with Moscow represents the biggest military purchase agreement since impoverished Bangladesh won its independence in 1971.

Hasina did not give details of how many submarines the country would be purchasing and from where, but a senior army general told reporters on Monday that Bangladesh was in negotiations with China on the subject.

Bangladesh, a third of whose 153 million population lives below the poverty line, has been expanding its defence capabilities in recent years, building a new air base close to neighbouring Myanmar and adding new frigates.

A UN tribunal ended a territorial dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar last March, but the row had brought the two sides close to military conflict in 2008 when Myanmar sent naval ships to support drilling for gas.

Bangladesh has also a long-standing dispute with neighbouring India over their maritime boundary in the resources-rich Bay of Bengal.

Hasina said the amicable settlement of the sea dispute with Myanmar has ensured the country’s sovereignty over 111,631 sq.km (43,100 sq.miles) of maritime area, nearly the size of the country itself.

She added the defence purchase was essential to ensure security of the huge area, in which Dhaka last month invited bidding from international oil companies to drill for new gas and oil reserves.

According to the state-run BSS news agency, the new warship that Hasina officially commissioned on Thursday was made in Khulna Shipyard under the supervision of the Bangladesh Navy.
The “BNS Padma” is armed with four 37-mm and two 20-mm cannons to resist land and air attacks and capable of laying mines.

Source – Times Online

Russia explores old nuclear waste dumps in Arctic – Video Clip

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By Laurence PeterBBC News

K-27 sub being towed prior to being scuttled off Novaya Zemlya, 1981
The Soviet K-27 submarine was sunk in the Kara Sea in 1981 after a fatal nuclear leak (pic: Vyacheslav Mazurenko)

The toxic legacy of the Cold War lives on in Russia’s Arctic, where the Soviet military dumped many tonnes of radioactive hardware at sea.

For more than a decade, Western governments have been helping Russia to remove nuclear fuel from decommissioned submarines docked in the Kola Peninsula – the region closest to Scandinavia.

But further east lies an intact nuclear submarine at the bottom of the Kara Sea, and its highly enriched uranium fuel is a potential time bomb.

This year the Russian authorities want to see if the K-27 sub can be safely raised, so that the uranium – sealed inside the reactors – can be removed.

They also plan to survey numerous other nuclear dumps in the Kara Sea, where Russia’s energy giant Rosneft and its US partner Exxon Mobil are now exploring for oil and gas.

Kara Sea map

Seismic tests have been done and drilling of exploratory wells is likely to begin next year, so Russia does not want any radiation hazard to overshadow that. Rosneft estimates the offshore fossil fuel reserves to be about 21.5bn tonnes.

‘Strategic imperative’

The Kara Sea region is remote, sparsely populated and bitterly cold, frozen over for much of the year. The hostile climate would make cleaning up a big oil spill hugely challenging, environmentalists say.

Those fears were heightened recently by the Kulluk accident – a Shell oil rig that ran aground in Alaska.

But Charles Emmerson, an Arctic specialist at the Chatham House think tank, says Arctic drilling is a “strategic imperative” for Russia, which relies heavily on oil and gas exports.

It is a bigger priority for Russia than Alaskan energy is for the US, he says, because the US now has a plentiful supply of shale gas. That and environmental concerns make the Arctic more problematic for Americans, he told BBC News.

“In the US the Arctic gets great public scrutiny and it’s highly political, but in Russia there is less public pressure.”

Russia is rapidly developing the energy-rich Yamal Peninsula, on the eastern shore of the Kara Sea. The retreat of Arctic summer sea ice, believed to be evidence of global warming, means liquefied natural gas tankers will be able to reach the far east via Russia’s Northern Sea Route in future.

Secret dumps

“Start Quote

Two sailors from K-27

The captain decided to keep going, because if the sub stopped for several hours nobody would survive long enough to get it back to base”
Vyacheslav MazurenkoK-27 survivor

On the western flank is a closed military zone – the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. It was where the USSR tested hydrogen bombs – above ground in the early days.

Besides K-27, official figures show that the Soviet military dumped a huge quantity of nuclear waste in the Kara Sea: 17,000 containers and 19 vessels with radioactive waste, as well as 14 nuclear reactors, five of which contain hazardous spent fuel. Low-level liquid waste was simply poured into the sea.

Norwegian experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are satisfied that there is no evidence of a radiation leak – the Kara Sea’s radioisotope levels are normal.

But Ingar Amundsen, an official at the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA), says more checks are needed.

The risk of a leak through seawater corrosion hangs over the future – and that would be especially dangerous in the case of K-27, he told BBC News.

“You cannot exclude the possibility that there is more waste there which we don’t know about,” he said.

Igor Kudrik of the Norwegian environmental group Bellona says there is even a risk that corrosion could trigger a nuclear chain reaction, in the worst-case scenario.

Other wrecks

Kursk wreck in dry dock
In 2001 the ill-fated Kursk was salvaged and put in a Russian dry dock

 

With international help Russia did manage to lift the wreck of the Kursk submarine after it sank in the Barents Sea during exercises in 2000. A torpedo explosion and fire killed 118 Russian sailors, in a drama which gripped the world’s media. The Russian navy was heavily criticised for its slow response.

But another ill-fated Russian nuclear-powered sub – the K-159 – remains at the bottom of the Barents Sea, in international waters.

And in the Norwegian Sea lies the K-278 Komsomolets, reckoned to be too deep to be salvaged.

Mr Amundsen says Russia is finally giving the radioactive waste problem the attention it deserves, and “we’re very happy they are focusing on this now”.

K-27 was an experimental submarine – the first in the Soviet navy to be powered by two reactors cooled by lead-bismuth liquid metal.

Disaster struck in 1968, when radioactive gases escaped from one reactor, poisoning crew members who tried to repair it at sea.

This footage from the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority shows the K-27 submarine underwater

Nine sailors died of radiation sickness, but the Soviet military kept it secret for decades.

Data collection

The navy gave up trying to repair K-27 and scuttled it illegally in 1981 off Novaya Zemlya. It lies just 30m (99ft) beneath the surface of Stepovogo fjord – though international guidelines say decommissioned vessels should be buried at least 3,000m down.

Last September a joint Norwegian-Russian expedition examined the wreck with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with a video camera. Some other nuclear dump sites were also examined and they found no signs of any leak, but the investigations are continuing.

Beyond the Kara Sea, Russia is forging ahead with exploration of the Arctic seabed, collecting data for a claim to areas beyond its waters.

Other Arctic countries are doing the same, aware of the frozen wilderness’s importance as the planet’s more accessible resources are depleted. A UN body, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)., will adjudicate on the claims.

As if to underline the strategic priorities, Russia is boosting its military presence in the Arctic and the Northern Fleet is getting a new generation of submarines, armed with multiple nuclear warheads.

Source – BBC News

This Tiny Shark Can Take Out Nuclear Submarines

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Cookiecutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis)

NOAA/Public Domain

The Cookiecutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis).

The cat-sized shark in the picture to the right doesn’t look that intimidating, but it has the power to take down an entire nuclear submarine. The fish’s strange bite can get at the softer areas of the submarines, National Geographic’s Ed Yong reports: 

The fearless cookie-cutters have even disabled the most dangerous ocean creature of all—the nuclear submarine. They attacked exposed soft areas including electrical cables and rubber sonar domes. In several cases, the attacks effectively blinded the subs, forcing them back to base for repairs. They later returned, fitted with fibreglass coverings.

The attacks happened in the 1970s and the problem seems to have been taken care of, though in several cases the sharks did enough damage to the vessel’s sonar equpiment that the oils inside that transmit sound would leak out of the ship and break the equipment — the subs could no longer see what was around them, according to the Reef Quest Centre for Shark Research.

Nuclear subs obviously aren’t all that tasty, but they seem to bite just about anything — even research equipment in the ocean. The distinctive bites have been found in all kinds of fish and other sharks, and even a human has been attacked by the little guys.

Source – Business Insider

 

Australia – Defence tenders for a $2 million supercomputer

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High performance computer cluster will be used for computational fluid dynamics modelling to assist in submarine designs

The Department of Defence plans to deploy a high-performance computer (HPC) cluster to execute computational fluid dynamics simulations that support its Future Submarine program, in a project set to begin in March this year.

Defence Science & Technology organisation (DSTO) issued a tender for the rollout of a supercomputer with associated software and services, which is expected to cost between $2 million and $2.4 million.

“The DSTO high performance supercomputer will support and conduct of science and technologies studies for the Future Submarine program,” a Defence spokesperson told CIO.

“These studies will assist with the development of requirements and provide technical advice to government aimed at reducing risk in critical areas for the project,” the spokesperson said.“
The computer system will enable numerically-intensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling required to assist in the understanding of the manoeuvring and signature performance of existing and potential submarine designs.”

The supercomputer will also be used to solve equations representing the time-dependent fluid flow around a submarine, its propeller and associated appendages, the Defence spokesperson said.

“The CFD simulations will involve discretising the volume of fluid about the submarine geometries to create meshes. The fluid equations are solved for each discrete point or cell in the mesh and the new system will be used to solve mesh sizes ranging [from] five million cells to greater than 100 million cells,” the spokesperson said.

The system will process the largest 100 million cell CFD simulations in days rather than months using existing DSTO computing facilities, Defence said.

The DSTO said it would deploy OpenFOAM-based solvers and, to a lesser extent, ANSYS Fluent/CFX software packages on the supercomputer “that are capable of efficiently solving problems in parallel across several thousand CPU cores.”

The HPC cluster will be integrated with DSTO’s existing hardware, which is networked using a quad data rate (QDR) Infiniband switch, and provides connectivity speeds of up to 40Gbps.

A network-attached storage node, running the Red Hat Enterprise 6 operating system, will provide storage for the HPC cluster; while a high-end HP Z800 workstation, running Centos 6, will act as a login node the cluster, the department said.

In September 2012, the government announced that it was establishing a Future Submarine Systems Centre in Adelaide, the home of the Future Submarine program. The government wants to acquire 12 new submarines, which will be assembled in South Australia.

Source – CIO

Russia plans to sell multipurpose submarines abroad

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Russia’s military-industrial complex is increasing arms exports through Rosoboronexport, year after year, and the naval component is no exception. However, the latest contract for the supply of non-nuclear submarines is unique.

Russia plans to sell multipurpose submarines abroad
Russia’s military-industrial complex is increasing arms exports through Rosoboronexport, year after year, and the naval component is no exception.

Rosoboronexport is in continued talks with Italy on the supply of S1000 submarines. However, these boats will not see action in either the Russian or the Italian navy. Instead, they will be sold exclusively to third-party countries.

Experts at the Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering and Italy’s Fincantieri completed the conceptual design of the S1000 a few years ago. The submarine was always intended for third-party countries. The Italian shipbuilding company presented a mockup in 2008, at the 21st International Naval Defense and Maritime Exhibition and at the Conference Euronaval 2008.

According to Fincantieri Commercial Director Enrico Bonnetti, “the submarine’s architecture has been determined, equipment has been positioned, and an integrated combat system has been designed.”

The S1000 is 56-meters long, with an outside hard-hull diameter of 5.5 meters (18 feet), a submerged displacement of around 1100 tons, a maximum depth of more than 250 meters (820 feet), and a top underwater speed of more than 14 knots. The submarine can carry a crew of 16, plus six special operations troops.

The propulsion system includes two diesel generators, a battery, an electric motor and an AIP system with an electrochemical generator. Both Russian- and Italian-made equipment will be installed in equal amounts.

The S1000 non-nuclear submarine is designed for anti-submarine warfare, reconnaissance missions, special operations support and transporting underwater subversive troops. The submarine can perform these tasks both in shallow coastal waters and in deep-sea conditions. Secondary objectives include anti-ship warfare, mining and naval aircraft support.

The Soviet Union —and later Russia — have traditionally sold non-nuclear, diesel-electric submarines abroad.

“Our key product in this global market segment is the Project 636 submarine, which is the current bestseller. But we are also promoting the new Amur-1500 submarine,”said Rosoboronexport head Anatoly Isaykin.

“This is not a replacement for Project 636; it is an entirely new submarine that we will be promoting in parallel with Project 636. The Amur-1500 will also be in demand from international buyers, as it will be offered in different versions —including a version with an air-independent propulsion system that is becoming increasingly popular in the naval market,” Isaykin said.

He added that sales of naval hardware through Rosoboronexport amounted to 20 percent of total military exports last year and were slightly higher than in 2011.

The Russian navy will soon receive Project 636 submarines, as well.

A keel-laying ceremony for a large diesel-electric Project 636.3 submarine named Stary Oskol was held at the end of last summer, at the Admiralty Shipyard. These submarines are now being built for the Russian navy, after being exported for 20 years.

This submarine is expected to get a version of the new Kalibr missile system (exported as the Club-S) with a range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles). There is one hitch though: to use this missile complex, a new combat command and control system is needed; its flaws have become one of the reasons behind the delays in building and deploying the Lada-class submarines for Russia’s navy.

Project 636 submarines are armed with six torpedo launchers located in the bow; six torpedoes sit in shafts that are automatically reloaded after each launch. The torpedoes can be replaced with 24 mines, two in each launcher. Two torpedo launchers have been designed to fire high-precision, remotely controlled torpedoes. All launchers and their service systems can fire from both periscope and tactical operating depths.

The launchers can be reloaded within 15 seconds.

According to expert assessments, the submarine is low noise and “sees” better underwater than the most widespread American-made, Los Angeles-class submarines.

Source – Russia Beyond the Headlines

Capt. John Markowicz, Who Led Fight To Save Groton Sub Base, Has Died

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Markowicz, of Waterford, served in the Navy for 34 years, built a business that grew from six to more than 400 employees, and worked to improve the local economy.

Capt. John C. Markowicz, a naval officer who spearheaded the fight in 2005 to save the Groton submarine base from closing, has died.

He was 68.

Markowicz, of Waterford, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and  received some of his early submarine training in Groton. He served in  posts including communications officer, weapons officer and engineering  officer on submarines, and he was honored with decorations for his  service and leadership.

He continued to serve in the reserves after leaving active duty, commanding several reserve units.

In 1976, Markowicz started a private defense-contracting business  that grew from six to more than 400 employees. Then he joined the  Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region, where he worked to improve  the local economy.

“I respected John an awful lot,” said former Groton Town Councilor Mick O’Beirne, who worked with Markowicz on a group to save the sub base.

“It was really a pleasure working with him, and I think practically   everyone on the sub base coalition team would say basically same thing.  We worked well as a group, and that is really a function of the   leadership.”

O’Beirne said he first met Markowicz in 1993, when they were working  against a proposal to remove submarines and basically the waterfront  from Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton.

For about five years, the two also served as co-chairs of what’s  now The Subase Coalition. O’Beirne became vice chair  of the group in 2005, when the base was threatened with closure.

He said  it was awkward to have two chairmen, and the coalition needed one  voice. O’Beirne and Markowicz continued to work together to save the  base and succeeded.

Markowicz’ obituary, published on the Byles-MacDougall Funeral Service, Inc.

Captain John C. Markowicz, naval officer, executive, and  civic leader in southeastern Connecticut died of brain cancer on Friday,  January 18, 2013.

He was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on March 4, 1944, the son of Stanley  and Stella (Buba) Markowicz. He grew up in Salem, Mass. where he  attended St. John the Baptist grammar school and was class president at  Salem High School.

He graduated from U.S. Naval Academy with the class of 1965 and launched a  career in nuclear submarines.  His early training as a submariner  included completing Nuclear Power School in Bainbridge, Md., prototype  training in Windsor Locks, Conn., and Submarine School in Groton, Conn.

He  served on the commissioning crew of USS PARGO (SSN 650) as  Communications Officer and then as Weapons Officer during testing of the  Mark 48 torpedo in 1970.  Following assignments included Submarine  Development Group Two as Squadron Weapons Officer and Engineering  Officer on USS GUITARRO (SSN 665).

His distinguished service in the  Submarine Force was recognized with several unit citations and numerous  personal decorations, including the Steven Decatur leadership award.  In  1976, he left active duty service and continued his naval service  through the Naval Reserve.  He participated in and commanded several  Reserve units before retiring after 34 years of honorable service.

He started his private career in 1976 by joining David and Muriel Hinkle  in starting a new defense contracting company in Sonalyst, Inc. and  came to live in Waterford, Conn.  He helped the small company grow from a  one floor office building of six employees to become Chief Operations  Officer of over 400 employees with offices located throughout the  country.

He left Sonalyst in 1994 and continued his leadership in the business  community through his commitment to the economic development of  Southeastern Connecticut.

He worked with Tech Conn and Sea Tech to stir  business development throughout the region.  In 1997, he joined  Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region (seCTer) and tirelessly  worked on sustaining the health of the local economy.

In 2005, he  spearheaded the coalition effort that successfully defended the  Submarine Base and overturned the recommendation of Base Realignment and  Closure Commission to close the facility.

His community service  included membership to the Waterford Nuclear Advisory Board,  Lawrence  and Memorial Hospital Corporators, and the St. Joseph Parish Council  where he was a long time parishioner.

He married Dolores “Laurie” Treptow in Holy Cross Church, Trenton, New  Jersey, on June 7, 1969.  He is survived by her and son John C.  Markowicz, Jr. and his wife Kristin Bache Markowicz and their children  John Carter, Joseph Thomas, James Stanley and Jane Lolitia and daughter,  Karen Lynn Noyes and her husband Brian Noyes and children Griffen  Horne, Avery Horne and Jilian Noyes of Duxbury, Mass.

He is survived by  his brother Joseph Markowicz and his wife Gail McGrane Markowicz of  Salem, Mass. and his mother-in law Wanda Kochanowicz Treptow and sister in  law Christine Treptow Servis and her husband David Servis of Punta Gorda, Florida and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Source – GrotonPatch

Taiwan’s Navy conducts anti-submarine drill

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A Hai Lung diesel-electric submarine (SS-793) emerges from the sea

The latest minehunters added to the Taiwan’s arsenal were shown in public for the first
time as the country’s Navy held an anti-submarine drill Tuesday to highlight its
combat readiness.

The exercise, which was open to the media, simulated an
emergency in which the Navy dispatched a frigate from Tsoying naval base in
Kaohsiung to counter a potential submarine attack by enemy forces.

The Dyihuah frigate — one of six Lafayette-class ships purchased from France in the
1990s — sailed into the Taiwan Strait accompanied by two retrofitted U.S.-made
coastal minehunters deployed to keep the sea free of mines and two
Chengkung-class frigates.

Taiwan received the minehunters last August and
were exposing them to public scrutiny for the first time Tuesday.

An S-2T anti-submarine aircraft was then dispatched to locate the opposing submarine,
followed by an anti-submarine S-70C helicopter sent out to deploy dipping sonar
systems to confirm the location of the submarine.

The submarine was finally pushed to the surface after the S-70C launched a simulated attack by
firing a torpedo, concluding the drill.

Naval officials said the exercise was held to highlight the military’s efforts to stay alert and strengthen combat readiness ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year break in February.

Source – Focus Taiwan

UK – Fears of Navy cuts and dock job losses in nuclear debate

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The £100 billion price tag of   a “like-for-like” replacement for Britain’s Trident nuclear weapon would mean more cuts to the Royal Navy, a former armed forces minister has warned.

Sir Nick Harvey, Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon, said he believed Britain could not afford, and did not need, a further generation of nuclear weapons on such a scale, and that an “open mind” should be kept on doing something at a lesser cost.

 ​submarines

But speaking during a  Commons debate on the issue, fellow Westcountry MPs raised fears over the impact on jobs at Devonport dockyard – the biggest private sector employer in Devon and Cornwall – of a scaled-back nuclear deterrent. The Plymouth yard boasts the only UK licence to refit, repair and refuel submarines that carry the Trident missile.

Sir Nick, sacked as a Ministry of Defence minister in last year’s  reshuffle, said the UK had to decide by the middle of 2016 whether or not to proceed with a replacement of the existing Trident nuclear deterrent. He said: “I do not believe that we need to have a further generation of nuclear weapons based on the scale we thought we needed in 1980 at the height of the Cold War, and I don’t think that we can afford to do so either.”

Sir Nick said he did not   believe that Britain’s national   security assessment and strategy suggested the country needed it.

When Britain had a known nuclear adversary in the shape of the former Soviet Union, there had been a “logic” to having continuous at-sea deterrents, he said, but the circumstances of today were “very different”.

Sir Nick outlined the capital investment of a further generation of submarines, the running costs and decommissioning.

He said: “When you begin to total this out and factor in decommissioning at the end, what we are talking about is an expenditure of over £100 billion and we need to look closely at whether that is justified.”

The impact of committing to such sums, he argued, would be felt “above all else by the Royal Navy”.

Of the three Armed Forces, the Navy has the strongest presence in the Westcountry, from commandos in Plymouth, Taunton and North Devon to warships based at Devonport Naval Base. There are sharp differences between the Tories and Lib Dems over the future of a replacement for Trident, with most Conservative ministers and backbenchers reluctant to reduce its capability.

Oliver Colvile, Tory MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said in the Commons: “The nuclear licence is vital to my constituency. It is our stake in the ground and we must ensure that lots of work comes out of it.”

Sheryll  Murray, Conservative MP for South East Cornwall, added: “I was concerned at our going into coalition with partners who stated in their last election manifesto that they would be saying no to like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system.

“I am still concerned that they might scale down our vital nuclear deterrent in increasingly uncertain times.”

Source – This is Cornwall

GD Awarded ‘USS Mississippi’ Maintenance Contract

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USS Mississippi in River Thames

USS Mississippi in River Thames

General Dynamics Electric Boat awarded a US$ 51.7-million Navy contract for maintenance work on the submarine ‘USS Mississippi’.

The contract is to to plan and perform the post-shakedown availability (PSA) on the nuclear submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). (Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics).

The PSA includes maintenance, repairs, alterations and testing. It will be performed at Electric Boat’s Groton shipyard. Up to 400 employees will be engaged in the work, which is scheduled for completion by December 2013. Initially awarded in April 2012, the contract has a total potential value of $67 million.

In May 2012, Electric Boat delivered Mississippi to the U.S. Navy a year ahead of contract schedule and more than US$60-million below target cost.
Mississippi is the ninth ship of the Virginia Class, the most advanced submarines in the world. These ships are providing the Navy with the capabilities it requires to retain its undersea dominance well into the 21st century.

Source – Marine Link

USA – Clamagore veterans want more time to raise money to save aging submarine

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USS Clamagore riding in her new berth next to the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina and Castle Pinckney (War of 1812) in the background.

That’s what the Clamagore Veterans Association pleaded for Friday to keep the aging submarine parked at Patriots Point from making one final mission to the bottom of the sea as an artificial reef.

The veterans group raised about $40,000 since Patriots Point first announced last summer it could no longer afford the upkeep or repair on the retired Cold War vessel.

Patriots Point gave them until June to come up with the money.

“We are not going to raise $3 million by June,” Clamagore Association President Bob Dewar of Florida frankly told the Patriots Point board.

The group wants to use some of the money already raised to enlist a professional fundraiser and have him under contract by Feb. 28.

Patriots Point has no problem with them trying to raise the money and hiring a fundraiser, but the board didn’t answer their plea for a one-year extension. Instead, the board decided to ask the group back in July for a status report on their fundraising efforts, according to Mac Burdette, Patriots Point executive director.

That left the veterans group scratching its head over whether to hire the fundraiser, not knowing if their efforts would be cut short in July.

“We would have to take a blind leap and go forward,” said Jackie Heard of the Save the Clamagore Committee after the meeting. The Huntsville, Ala., resident’s father, Jack F. Heard, served as commanding officer of the Clamagore from 1956 to 1958. She presented the latest Clamagore proposal Friday to Patriots Point.

“Do you throw the towel in now, or do you press on”? she said. “We won’t know until those lists are studied.”

Heard was referring to the lists of Clamagore veterans that the fundraiser would analyze to see the best potential for raising money.

“We would like nothing more than to have that money raised and keep the Clamagore where she is,” Burdette said. “But you have to do what is right for the long-term benefit of the museum.”

The waterfront tourist attraction intends to press on with the lengthy federal process of turning the Clamagore into a reef or finding another suitor for the submarine, board Chairman Ray Chandler said.

Citing an independent engineer’s assessment, Burdette is worried that rising water from a strong hurricane could swamp the submarine’s open hatches, causing it to sink and creating an environmental disaster in Charleston Harbor because of fluids and batteries still on the sub.

The naval and maritime museum in Mount Pleasant doesn’t have the money to repair the rusting vessel that’s been sitting in the harbor’s salt water for more than three decades beside the World War II aircraft carrier Yorktown, the centerpiece attraction that is staring at an estimated $81 million overhaul.

Under an agreement worked out last summer, the veterans group was to hire a qualified marine engineer to survey the vessel, but to save money the group deferred to a study commissioned by Patriots Point.

Speaking by phone during the meeting from Seattle, former Clamagore commander Don Ulmer said he had spoken with Boeing about committing $1.5 million in matching funds if the group raised the rest, but he said it was not a firm commitment and would revisit the aerospace giant if the time extension is granted.

Ulmer said also the group has been in contact with author and marine archaeologist Clive Cussler, who has offered support but no money. The group is also in talks with the Seattle Museum of Flight to see if it is interested in taking the submarine, Heard said.

If the extension is granted, the association pledged to shore up the open hatches as an interim measure against hurricanes.

The group has also contacted United States Submarine Veterans Inc., which has offered to handle monetary collections for the group because it’s a nonprofit organization.

If the final decision is to turn the submarine into a reef, Dewar asked that the sail and periscope be removed so they could be become part of a permanent memorial.

Some vestige of the vessel would remain as part of Patriots Point, Chandler said.

Source – The Post & Courier