Photo (from several 100m above) showing how many fragments ARA San Juan 800m has already exploded into and how likely it will crumble further. (Photo courtesy Ocean Infinity's search vessel Seabed Constructor).
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This is a tragedy for the relatives of ARA San Juan's crew.
- San Juan is more than 935m down and now may weigh 2,300+ tonnes. (see right sidebar here)
- Extremely strong, heavy, steel was crushed and exploded into fragements, or dust, by hydrogen
explosion and by inrushing water pressure. "Pieces that were 11m, 13m and 30m
long [and much smaller] were spotted.."
- Recovery technology may just just break the submarine into smaller falling pieces rather than
recover it. That is what happened in the US$Billion+ Glomar Explorer salvage expedition when
raising a Russian submarine was attempted.
- Even the US eventually found the Glomar Explorer expedition technically too difficult and too
expensive.
- Cutting of the extremely strong and heavy portions of the hull may not be possible. Its not like
cutting the thin, light, aluminium/aluminum or thin composites of crashed airliners/planes.
- DNA testing may prove which crew fragments have been recovered. This may be a blessing for
some relatives, but may also raise new problems for many. Fragments of every member of
the crew are unlikely to be recovered, meaning some families will feel forever excluded and
wronged.
See the most
full discussion (so far) of recovering San Juan in the Maritime Herald,
November 19, 2018.
November 19, 2018.
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