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Investigation into the Radioecological Status of the sunken Nuclear Submarine Komsomolets in the Norwegian Sea Results from the 2019 Norwegian research cruise

During the 2019 Norwegian research cruise to the nuclear submarine Komsomolets, which sank in 1989, Komsomolets was observed lying upright on the seafloor at a depth of around 1680 m approximately 250 km SSW from Bear Island. The forward section of the submarine has suffered considerable damage to both the outer hull and inner pressure hull particularly around the torpedo compartment. The coverings, plates and plugs installed around the torpedo compartment by Russia in the 1990s were observed to be still in place. The stern section showed no obvious physical damage to the external hull, except for several missing deck tiles on the starboard side adjacent to the main stern ballast tank and compartment seven. The exterior surfaces of the submarine were typically covered with a sparse layer of marine biota growth. As well as the known openings between the marine environment and the torpedo compartment, it is likely that such pathways exist between compartments two and three and possibly to all the remaining compartments either through damaged transverse bulkheads or system tube lines that ran the length of the submarine