The largest submarine in the world today is the Russian Type 941 "Acura" class (known as the "Typhoon" class by NATO) ballistic missile nuclear submarine, with an underwater displacement of more than 40,000 tons. However, in the face of the latest design plan of Russian submarine engineers, the "Typhoon" class may be dwarfed.
A few days ago, Russia's Malachite Central Ship Design Bureau launched a design scheme for a nuclear submarine named "pilgrim" class. The size of this nuclear submarine is unprecedented, and may even be unprecedented. The purpose of this nuclear submarine is unexpected-it will be used as an "underwater tanker", transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Arctic routes, and can sail under ice.
An unprecedented super-large nuclear submarine
Facing the strong demand of the world natural gas market and the export needs of Russia’s Arctic oil fields, the Malachite Design Bureau in St. Petersburg proposed " The design scheme of the "pilgrim" class nuclear submarine. According to the requirements of the plan, this large "underwater tanker" (or "underwater LNG carrier") can carry 170,000 to 180,000 tons of liquefied natural gas each time.
This nuclear submarine has a total length of 360 meters and a width of 70 meters. The size will far exceed the "Typhoon" class, which has a total length of 175 meters and a width of 23 meters, which are 1/th of the "pilgrim" class. 2 and 1/3, the height of the boat is not much different. Therefore, the volume and tonnage of the "pilgrim" class will be at least 6 times that of the "typhoon" class, and the underwater displacement is estimated to be more than 200,000 tons. In contrast, the displacement of the "Typhoon" class nuclear submarine is 30,000 to 40,000 tons, and the US "Ford" class aircraft carrier is 110,000 tons. In other words, this super nuclear submarine has the smallest tonnage and is equivalent to two US aircraft carriers.
In order to drive this huge hull, the "pilgrim" class will install at least three nuclear reactors, each with a power of 30 megawatts. In contrast, this level of power is not exaggerated. The "Typhoon" class nuclear submarine has two nuclear reactors of 190 MW, and the underwater speed is up to 27 knots.
Therefore, as a civilian nuclear submarine, the "pilgrim" class does not pursue excessive speed. Even so, the "pilgrim" class can maintain a speed of 17 knots for a long time, which is only about 1-2 knots slower than an ordinary LNG ship. Moreover, this nuclear submarine does not need to have as many combat personnel as military nuclear submarines, and the crew only needs 25-28.
In addition, the LNG carrying capacity of the "pilgrim" class is also very competitive. At present, most of the world's mainstream ultra-large LNG ships are 170,000 cubic meters, which is equivalent to more than 70,000 tons. The carrying capacity of the "pilgrim" class is almost twice that of most super-large LGN ships.
"Underwater LNG carrier" changes the rules of the game?
The Malachite Central Ship Design Bureau is a world-renowned submarine design unit. It has developed a large number of famous nuclear submarines in history, including the 671 attack nuclear submarine (NATO called "Victor" class) and the 705 attack nuclear submarine (NATO) It is called the "Alpha" class), the Type 945 attack nuclear submarine (NATO called the "Serra" class), and the latest Type 885 attack nuclear submarine (NATO called the "Yasen" class). The "Loshalik" pocket nuclear submarine that had an accident last year is also a masterpiece of the Malachite Design Bureau. Russia's next-generation attack nuclear submarine 545 "Lycra" class (NATO called the "Husky" class) will also be developed by the design bureau.
If Russia successfully builds the "pilgrim" class, it will be the world's first real "diving tanker", but the idea of "carrying petroleum products underwater" is not new. There have been many programs in history, but none of them achieved any results.
In the 1950s, the United States once envisioned a civilian submersible tanker as a substitute for Alaska's subsea oil pipeline. Japan has also proposed a similar idea, and in 1995 applied for a patent for "submarine transporting liquid carbon dioxide under ice caps." At about the same time, Russia also applied for a patent for an "underwater tanker" specifically operating on ice-bound Arctic routes.
This kind of oversizedOnce a submersible tanker or submersible LNG ship is implemented, it is likely to break the existing oil transportation system. This kind of nuclear submarine can not only avoid pirate harassment, but also has the ability to evade "oil embargo" enforcement methods.
However, one of the biggest problems of LNG ships is safety. Because LNG is flammable and explosive, LNG ships have the title of "Hydrogen Bomb at Sea". Therefore, after the "pilgrim" class combines nuclear power and liquefied natural gas, the two hidden dangers, how to solve safety will be the biggest design problem.
Therefore, how to realize this kind of nuclear submarine that breaks the traditional concept in the future is a thing worth looking forward to. (Author: Tao Mu sword)
