Covert Shores World Guide to
Naval Tunnels to Hide & Protect Submarines
There are a surprising number of tunnels built to protect submarines (and/or warships) from surprise attack. Today the main users are China, North Korea and,... Sweden. But there are many other examples around the world, sometimes disused, sometimes so secret that they remain unconfirmed.

This is going to be a very lightweight guide. I've included coordinates so that you can go and explore yourself. Each set of tunnels has a story, often fascinating, but I cannot do them all justice so just sharing locations. Hopefully interesting!

Submarines are at their most vulnerable while in port. A surprise attack could decimate a nation's submarine capability. In reality most navies have very few bases, and submarines are moored in predictable locations. But since the submarine pens build by the German Navy during World War Two, planners have turned to concrete and rock to protect their subs.

Muskö Naval Base, Sweden 58° 59.090'N, 18° 3.269'E
Probably the most extensive, and most famous, Muskö was inactivated after the Cold War. It has been announced that it will reopen however.

Pavlovskoye Naval Base, Russia (never completed) 42° 52.370'N, 132° 31.115'E

San Felix Island, Chile (Unconfirmed) 26°17'32.22"S, 80° 6'31.78"W

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Yulin Naval Base, China 18°12'8.97"N, 109°41'39.34"E

Jianggezhuang Naval Base, China 36° 6'20.76"N, 120°35'2.39"E

Xiachuan Dao Submarine Base, China 21°35'45.08"N, 112°33'5.14"E

Daishan, China 30°15'40.61"N, 122°19'1.43"E

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Tunnel near Shipuzhen, China 29°11'2.75"N, 121°56'35.68"E

Tunnel on Baili, China 21°59'37.38"N, 113°44'29.33"E

Other submarine tunnels, China
a) 18°15'33.44"N, 109°43'26.51"E (second entrance at 18°15'43.51"N, 109°43'40.74"E)

Qeshm tunnel, Iran 26°43'5.56"N, 55°58'23.27"E

Various tunnels, North Korea

Some more at:
a) 39°13'17.70"N, 127°31'9.43"E
b) 39°19'5.48"N, 127°25'20.21"E
c) 39°22'17.91"N, 127°26'17.15"E (with possible exit at 39°22'24.15"N, 127°26'57.89"E)
d) 41°19'17.29"N, 129°46'4.88"E (with second entrance at 41°19'29.91"N, 129°46'13.29"E
e) 38°44'1.38"N, 128°12'45.19"E (two entrances)
f) 38°48'11.20"N, 128° 8'17.47"E (possible exit at 38°48'28.17"N, 128° 8'11.75"E)
G) 37°46'11.07"N, 125°20'23.47"E (with second entrance at 37°46'18.15"N, 125°20'16.79"E)

There are also a number of bases with on land tunnels for warships. These typically have a slipway with a turntable at the top, which rotates the vessels to enter/exit the tunnel. These are most likely for fast attack craft, but could be used for midget submarines. The best visual clue is the turntable. Example:

Another example with turnable-only entreance at 39°13'34.24"N, 127°37'16.69"E

Bartin, Turkey 41°41'7.51"N, 32°14'9.91"E

Olavsvern submarine base, Norway (inactive) 69°32'18.93"N, 19° 2'9.67"E
Olavsvern was a naval base in Norway's arctic north near the city of Tromsø. It was closed in 2008 and has since been used by Russian firms. In 2016 a report encouraged Norway to reopen Olavsvern submarine support base.

Cartagena naval base, Spain (never completed) 37°35'11.87"N, 0°59'18.05"W

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Balaklava submarine tunnel, Crimea (now a museum) 44°30'3.08"N, 33°35'46.89"E
Construction of the twin tunnels started during World war Two (Spain was neutral) but was never finished.

Vis submarine tunnel, Former Yugoslavia (now Croatia, inactive) 43° 4'41.53"N, 16°10'52.84"E

Sibenik submarine tunnel, Former Yugoslavia (now Croatia, inactive) 43°43'31.61"N, 15°52'7.20"E

Other Former-Yugoslavian Navy tunnels
a) Lastovo: 42°46'3.14"N, 16°48'8.73"E
b) Brijesta: 42°54'32.32"N, 17°31'46.05"E
c) Brač #1: 43°17'28.18"N, 16°29'38.38"E
d) Brač #2: 43°16'52.73"N, 16°30'27.17"E
e) Brač #3: 43°18'19.36"N, 16°27'55.29"E

Porto Palermo tunnel, Albania (inactive) 40° 4'16.26"N, 19°46'36.56"E

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