A new first-in-class Chinese attack submarine sank at a Wuhan shipyard in a pier-side accident

Thomas Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank and former US submarine officer, first posted images on X in July showing cranes clustered around something in the water at a spot where the new submarine had been earlier. He also noted the presence of an oil containment boom and speculated that something “odd” was happening.

The submarine’s sinking comes as China’s shipbuilding industry continues to fuel its naval modernization plans. China’s shipbuilding capacity, for both commercial and military vessels, is massive, and it uses many of its dual-use shipyards to build its navy, which is the largest in the world.

The Pentagon has long identified China’s shipbuilding industry as key to its naval buildup, which is occurring at a rapid pace. The efforts are tied to the modernization of China’s military, developments that have played into the US decision to shift its focus towards the Indo-Pacific.