--- title: "China Embarrassed When Brand-New Secret Nuclear Submarine Instantly Sinks" description: "Secret Sub Amid ongoing competition with the United States, China experienced a major setback earlier this year when its secret nuclear submarine sank right after being launched. As the Wall Street Journal reports based on intelligence from American officials, the incident that occurred in late May or early June near Wuhan was quickly and quietly covered […]" date: "2024-09-26" modified: "2024-09-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-embarrassed-nuclear-sub-sinks" categories: - "Energy" - "Nuclear Fusion" - "Renewable Energy" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "china" - "nuclear submarine" - "submersibles" - "the digest" --- # China Embarrassed When Brand-New Secret Nuclear Submarine Instantly Sinks ![China experienced a major military setback earlier this year when its secret nuclear submarine sank right after being launched. ]() *photo of natural bubbles simulating space \Image: Getty Images\* ## Sub Drop Amid ongoing competition [with the United States](), China experienced a major setback earlier this year when its secret nuclear submarine sank right after being launched. As the [*Wall Street Journal* reports]() based on intelligence from American officials, the incident that occurred in late May or early June near Wuhan was quickly and quietly covered up by government officials. Though most of the country's nuclear attack subs are manufactured in the northeastern Chinese city of Huludao, this new one seems to have been built in the Wuchang Shipyard near Wuhan. It was, *WSJ*'s sources indicate, the first of a new class of submarines known as Zhou and featured a distinctive X-shaped stern. Because of the secretive nature of the entire operation — and the refusal by the Chinese government and its People's Liberation Army (PLA) to even admit that anything happened — the sinking remains murky. Experts outside the American government believe, however, that it was likely carrying nuclear fuel. "It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pierside," a senior American defense official told the newspaper on condition of anonymity. "In addition to the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the PLA’s internal accountability and oversight of China’s defense industry, which has long been plagued by corruption." ## Informed Observer Though satellite imagery acquired by the *WSJ* has since confirmed the existence of the new Zhou-class nuclear sub, a defense expert's posts on social media may well have been the first inklings the public got about it. Over the summer, former US submarine officer [Thomas Shugart posted on X]() that he'd spotted floating cranes near the shipyard that, to him, seemed to signal there "may be a new class of Chinese submarine out there." He was, as it turns out, correct — but he wasn't aware at the time that it was nuclear. "Can you imagine a US nuclear submarine sinking in San Diego and the government hushes it up and doesn’t tell anybody about it?" Shugart said in an interview with the *WSJ*. "I mean, Holy Cow!" Though satellite images suggest the wreckage has been salvaged, American officials told the newspaper that there's been no indication that Chinese officials have sampled the part of the Yangtze River where it sank for radiation. This isn't the end of the world, Shugart suggests, because the risk of a nuclear leak that soon into the sub's voyage is low. Though there's a possibility people were killed or injured during the sinking, there hasn't been any intelligence that confirms or denies this — which is yet another illustration of just how hazy this entire debacle really is. **More on China:** [*Chinese Researchers Say They Can Detect Stealth Aircraft Using Starlink Satellites*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()