Move to stop submarine disasters with Navy safety reforms

The Royal Australian Navy has ordered sweeping new emergency procedures to avoid a Kursk-style submarine disaster, following the near-loss of the HMAS Dechaineux and its 55 crew.

The moves, which include revamped command procedures and hi-tech sensors, valves and emergency buttons, are aimed at stemming an on-board flood within seconds, before it overwhelms the crew.

They are the culmination of detailed studies into the Dechaineux accident off Perth in February 2003, revealed in The Weekend Australian three years ago, during which more than 12,000 litres of water flooded into the submarine in seconds, almost causing it to sink to the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

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