Ming 361 Submarine Disaster

The submarine hull number No. 361 named Great Wall #61 (长城61号) was a Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Type 035AIP (ES5E variant) (NATO reporting name Ming III) conventional diesel/electric submarine. In April 2003, during an military exercise in the Yellow Sea between North Korea and China's Shandong Province, the vessel suffered a mechanical failure that killed all 70 crew members on board. It was one of China's worst peacetime military disasters. The PLA Navy's Commander Shi Yunsheng and Political Commissar Yang Huaiqing were both dismissed as a result of the accident.

According to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, all 70 crew members died when the submarine's diesel engine used up all available oxygen (because it had failed to shut down properly) while the boat was submerged on April 16, 2003. The submarine, which was commanded by Commodore Cheng Fuming (程福明), had been taking part in naval exercises east of Inner Changshan Islands in the Yellow Sea off the coast of Northeastern China. Along with its normal complement, the crew included 13 trainee cadets from the Chinese naval academy.

After the disaster, the crippled submarine drifted for ten days because it was on a silent, no-contact exercise. The boat was discovered by Chinese fishermen who noticed its periscope sticking above the surface on April 25, 2003. The crew were slumped over at their stations, seemingly having died before becoming aware of any issue.

At a press conference on May 8, 2003, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhang Qiyue stated that while on an exercise east of Changshan Islands, the No. 361 submarine was incapacitated by a mechanical problem and all 70 on board had perished. The submarine had been towed to a port as of the time of the press conference. The submarine was initially towed to Yulin Harbor near Sanya on Hainan Island before being taken back to the northeast seaport of Dalian in Liaoning province. More details