I just know that when we were starting up a new power plant, coal or nuke, this kind of surprise would have never happened by the time we started the plants up. Similar type systems, similar pressures.
Do you have car insurance? If you do. Why?
Move to stop submarine disasters with Navy safety reforms
...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.
..."Following the HMAS Dechaineux flooding incident, investigations have focused on shortening the reaction time to a flood and improving resistance to flooding,"
"These improvements include revised emergency procedures, the fitting of additional sensors to warn of potential flooding, the development of a system that can simultaneously shut all critical hull valves, and replacing the original flexible hoses.
...The alarm was passed on to the control room via shouts of "flooding" over the intercom and then the captain's order was given to shut all the hull's external valves.
Naval investigators concluded this procedure was too cumbersome and could prove fatal in another major flood, where seconds could make the difference between life and death.
New sensors are being installed for early flood detection, while flood-alert push-buttons are being placed in bilge areas so crew do not have to run to broadcast stations.
When a flood is detected, a new automated system can instantly and automatically shut all external valves.
New rules have also been introduced to allow console operators in the control room to enact emergency procedures instantly in case of a flood without waiting for the captain's orders.
Despite these safety improvements, the navy will have to wait 18 months until it gets flexible hoses to replace the type that failed on the Dechaineux.
The hoses were ordered early last year but are still being put through laboratory tests by their manufacturer, Oil State Industries in Texas.
If the new hoses prove successful, the navy is expected to revisit the limitations of diving depth it imposed on the fleet after the Dechaineux incident. The submarines' deep diving depth is classified.
i’m with you- it kinda freaks me out to hear that they took her down to ‘see what happens’