The loss of ARA San Juan
The Argentine submarine ARA San Juan vanished with 44 crew on 15 November 2017 in the South Atlantic after reporting an electrical fault; a year later its imploded wreck was found at 907 m.
2017 CE · -45.95, -59.77 · status: official
The account
Within hours of the last message, hydrophones of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization recorded a 'hydro-acoustic anomaly' consistent with an implosion, which Argentina announced on 23 November. The search by many nations ended without success; families pressed for more, and a criminal investigation followed. On 16 November 2018 the wreck was found about 460 km south-east of Comodoro Rivadavia, scattered over 8,000 square metres. The long silence produced rumours of sabotage and secret missions.
The sceptical view
The documented cause is a flooding and electrical failure followed by implosion; no evidence supports the conspiracy rumours.
Connections in the atlas
- The Kursk disaster
- Titan and the banging in the deep
- Golfo Nuevo submarine hunt
- USS Scorpion lost near the Azores