Discover the G.o.sars: Ratings & Maritime News

**Title: In-Depth Survey Report on 'Komsomolets' Wreck Unveiled** On March 23, 2026, the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority based in Tromsø released a comprehensive report detailing the conditions of the Russian submarine ‘Komsomolets’, which tragically sank in the European Arctic Ocean on April 7, 1989, carrying nuclear weaponry. The incident occurred during a routine operation between Norway and Svalbard when a fire ignited in the vessel's stern at a considerable depth of around 400 meters. Although attempts were made to recover the submarine by pumping air into its ballast tanks, a suspected failure in the port ballast line allowed high-pressure air to leak into bulkhead 7. This led to an explosive spread of the fire. Ultimately, while the ‘Komsomolets’ managed to surface, the resultant damage forced it to sink again, resulting in the loss of 42 lives, with only 27 of the 69 crew members surviving. The submarine now rests at nearly 1,700 meters underwater. Both the Soviet Union and Russia conducted investigations post-sinking, leading to preventive measures in 1994 that included the sealing of torpedo tubes and other openings with titanium plates to mitigate radioactive leakage. Since 2013, Norway has kept a watchful eye over the wreck, and in 2019, extensive investigations were conducted utilizing ROV technology to collect samples and analyze the situation. The findings revealed that the titanium seals remain intact, and no plutonium traces were detected in the vicinity of the submarine's damaged forward section. However, it was confirmed that releases from the reactor are still occurring, albeit not continuously, with higher-than-normal activity levels of strontium-90 (90Sr) and cesium-137 (137Cs) found, being 400,000 and 800,000 times greater than typical Norwegian Sea levels, respectively. Additionally, elevated levels of plutonium-239 (239Pu), plutonium-240 (240Pu), and uranium-236 (236U) were detected, indicating corrosion of the nuclear reactor’s fuel. Despite three decades of radiation releases, there’s limited evidence of radionuclide accumulation around the wreck, as the released substances appear to dilute rapidly within the surrounding seawater. The ongoing investigation underlines the potential for future releases and the importance of understanding the corrosion processes affecting the reactor and the remaining nuclear material on board. This study was a collaborative effort financed by the Institute of Marine Research and the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, with support from Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and various academic institutions, including the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Surveys were conducted using the research vessel 'G.O. Sars' and the ROV 'Ægir 6000'. Key contributions to the report, particularly in Accelerator Mass Spectrometry measurements, were carried out by A/Prof. S.G. Tims, Prof. L.K. Fifield, and Drs. M.B. Froehlich, and S. Pavetich from the Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications at the Australian National University. For the complete findings, access the report at: [PNAS](https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2520144123).

The wreck of the British submarine HMS 'Thistle' has been discovered and identified in the North Sea, off south-western Norway, after had been missing for 83 years, since being sunk by a German U-boat during World War Two. During an expedition to map seabed geology and biology, the 'G.O. Sars', in spring 2023, had revealed an anomaly at a depth of 160 meters, with ROV-mounted cameras revealing it to be that of a submarine. Only in October, however, following a second ROV dive, has imagery been produced to enable the Royal Navy to confirm its identity. The surveys were part of the MAREANO project, which has been run since 2006 by Norway’s Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Geological Survey of Norway and Norwegian Mapping Authority. The team had already come across four wrecks on the spring expedition when the 'Thistle' mark showed up. Of the five, only the cargo ship 'Azalea', sunk in 1990. had been previously known about. The onboard research indicated that the submarine was likely to be a British vessel, but initially it seemed more likely to have been HMS 'Oxley', lost just before WW2, rather than the 'Thistle (N24)', a T-class submarine launched in October 1938 and missing since April 9, 1940, with the loss of all 53 crew. After the expedition, submarine experts suggested that HMS 'Thistle' was the more likely option of the two, but it took more detailed images captured by the ROV ÆGIR 6000 during the October MAREANO voyage to the Skagerrak to settle the matter with the small caveat that it is the Royal Navy that is responsible for the final identification. Report with photos: https://divernet.com/scuba-news/wrecks/british-ww2-sub-wreck-located-off-norway/