BBC - Monday, 8 October, 2001, 10:28 GMT 11:28 UK Kursk raised from sea bed President Putin promised to recover the wreck

The Russian nuclear submarine, the Kursk, has been lifted from the bed of the Barents Sea and is heading towards shore.

The vessel, which sank last year killing all 118 people on board, has not yet been brought all the way to the surface.

But a giant barge has already begun to drag it towards a floating dock near Murmansk as the salvage team takes advantage of a spell of clear weather to try to complete the much-delayed operation.

The lifting had originally been scheduled for mid-September and the approaching arctic winter raised concerns that the operation might not be completed this year.

The barge is now expected to reach port on Tuesday.

Radiation 'normal'

Divers have spent the past seven days attaching 26 massive cables from the Giant-4 barge to holes cut in the hull of the wreck.

The Dutch salvage company Mammoet said the submarine had been less deeply embedded in the seabed than thought.

"The vessel is completely loose now and free from mud. It came off quite easily, easier than we expected," Mammoet spokeswoman Larissa van Seumeren said.

The lifting began shortly before 0400 (0000GMT). The barge raised its anchor and began to drag it slowly inland at 1100 (0700 GMT).

Divers have been inspecting the operation every hour - checking radiation levels and the angle between the barge and the submarine.

There have been fears of a possible radiation leak but levels are still said to be normal.

Bad weather has consistently delayed the mission, and there were fears that it might not be removed until next spring.

Hunting for clues

If it is successfully brought to the surface, the Kursk will first be taken to dry docks at Roslyakovo, outside Murmansk.

After initial investigations and the removal of cruise missiles, the wreck will be towed to nearby Snezhnogorsk.

Investigators will search for clues as to what caused the catastrophic explosions on 12 August last year.

The Russian navy initially blamed the sinking on a collision with a Western vessel.

A subsequent investigation suggested the cause was more likely to have been an accident in the torpedo bay.

Russian President Vladimir Putin came in for severe criticism for his handling of the crisis, after failing to break off a holiday and return to Moscow.

He later promised to ensure that the remains of the sailors' bodies were returned to their families at any cost.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

Answers

OG,

How are your friends doing over there? How are the families coping?

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

Just heard from them yesterday. Their club's computer was stolen some time ago and it took them a while to get a new one and put all the addresses back in it! They're doing fine. I'm hoping to send them a package for Christmas.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

Now wouldn't this be just the time for them to find that the U.S. did in fact have something to do with the Kursk?

={(Oak)-

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/282/world/Russia_s_nuclear_submarine_K ur:.shtml

Russia's nuclear submarine Kursk is on its way to harbor

By Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press, 10/9/2001 04:52

MURMANSK, Russia (AP) A giant barge hauled the sea-battered remains of the Kursk nuclear submarine toward dock Tuesday, while a senior Russian official sought to downplay potential radiation danger from its twin nuclear reactors.

A Dutch consortium raised the Kursk on Monday more than a year after it exploded and sank, killing the entire 118-crew.

''We are absolutely confident nothing will happen to the reactors,'' Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who oversaw the Kursk's lifting, told reporters before leaving Murmansk.

The submarine is being towed to the dock in Roslyakovo near Murmansk, and concern about a possible radiation leak from its two 190-megawatt nuclear reactors has prompted local officials to work out contingency evacuation plans and beef up stocks of iodine.

Klebanov insisted there was no danger to Roslyakovo residents. The Russian navy has made similar statements that the Kursk's reactors are firmly sealed in their steel containers and will remain safe.

''If there had been one-million odds that something would happen, we would never have carried out the operation in Roslyakovo,'' Klebanov said.

It took the Dutch Mammoet-Smit International consortium just over 15 hours using steel cables lowered from the Giant 4 barge to lift the submarine, which was lying 356 feet below water.

Once lifted, the submarine was clamped under the Giant 4, its protruding conning tower and tail fins tightly fitting into niches carved in the barge.

Remote-controlled cameras and divers watched the submarine throughout the raising, and radiation gauges sent a constant stream of data about the condition of the Kursk's reactors, which showed no sign of a radiation leak.

Before the submarine is put in dry dock, new comprehensive radiation measurements were to be conducted to make sure no radiation leaks into the atmosphere. Once the submarine is docked, the navy will remove the remains of the crew and 22 Granit supersonic cruise missiles.

''A radiation control ship will remain near the dock,'' Klebanov said.

The front section of the submarine, which was mangled by two explosions, the second of which was comparable to a minor earthquake, was left on the seabed out of fears it might have broken off and destabilized the lifting. After the rest of the Kursk was lifted, divers covered the submarine's open front with a net to prevent its wrecked contents from falling out.

The barge, hauled by a tugboat, set out for Roslyakovo at about 8 p.m. Moscow time Monday and is expected to reach its destination by around 12 p.m. Moscow time Wednesday. The seas have remained calm, and the Kursk was being towed at a speed of about 3 knots along the shortest route possible.

The Kursk, one of Russia's largest and most modern submarines, exploded and sank in August 2000 during naval maneuvers, killing its entire 118-man crew.

The government said the Kursk must be raised to avoid any potential danger to the environment from its nuclear reactors and to shipping because of its position in shallow waters. The navy also hopes to determine the cause of the Kursk's sinking.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2001

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/283/world/Giant_barge_towing_remains_o f_:.shtml

Giant barge towing remains of Kursk nuclear submarine arrives at Russian port

By Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press, 10/10/2001 10:15

MURMANSK, Russia (AP) The battered nuclear submarine Kursk reached shore in sunny but chilly weather Wednesday, 14 months after it exploded and sank, killing its entire 118-man crew.

A barge hauling the submarine pulled into a Russian shipyard's waters in the final stage of a salvage effort made riskier by the ship's two nuclear reactors and missile arsenal. On Monday, a Dutch consortium finished raising the Kursk from the Barents Sea floor.

The Giant-4 barge started attaching itself to floating anchors about 500 yards from shore at Roslyakovo near Murmansk just after 5 p.m., said Russian Navy spokesman Vladimir Navrotsky. It was to take about an hour to finish the anchoring process, then two or three days to prepare the ship for docking, he said.

The Kursk's two 190-megawatt nuclear reactors have been a primary concern since the Aug. 12, 2000 explosion. Measurements conducted throughout the lifting and towing have shown no trace of leaked radiation, the Russian Northern Fleet chief, Adm. Vyacheslav Popov, said.

''People concentrated all their efforts. The situation was very tense as people felt high responsibility,'' Navrotsky told reporters. ''After anchoring we immediately will start detailed radiation checks.''

Officials have said the reactors were safely shut down when the Kursk sank and that they leaked no radiation. But the risk of a potential radiation leak in the rich fishing grounds of the Barents Sea was a key reason the Russian government cited for the costly, precarious operation to lift the Kursk.

Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who is in charge of the salvage effort in the Russian Cabinet, insisted the reactors would remain safe. ''If there had been a one-in-a-million chance that something would happen, we would never had carried out the operation in Roslyakovo,'' Klebanov said.

Concern about a possible radiation leak prompted Roslyakovo officials to work out contingency evacuation plans and beef up stocks of iodine.

Another reason for concern was the condition of the Kursk's 22 supersonic Granit cruise missiles.

If it proves impossible to lift missiles out of their containers in a normal fashion, the navy is prepared to cut them out of the Kursk's hull together with containers, Popov said. He didn't say when the missiles would be removed, but estimated that it would take at least a year to dismantle the submarine along with its nuclear reactors and missiles.

Speaking on Russian television late Tuesday, Popov bristled with anger when asked when camera crews would be allowed close to the wreck. ''For sailors, a sunken ship is like a dead body and showing a disfigured wreck is morally wrong,'' he snapped.

While the most cumbersome part is nearing an end, much work remains on the Kursk.

Once it is put in dry dock, officials will first take out remains of the crew to prevent damaging contact with the air. Navrotsky said officials only hope to find 30 to 40 bodies, because remains of others were likely blown to dust by powerful explosions that sank the submarine.

At least 23 Kursk sailors survived the crash for hours in the stern compartments, according to letters found when divers entered the vessel last fall and recovered 12 bodies.

It took the Dutch Mammoet-Smit International consortium just over 15 hours to lift the submarine, which was lying 356 feet below the surface, on steel cables lowered from the 26,400-ton barge. The immaculate operation cost the Russian government $65 million.

The Arctic seas, usually rough in this season, have remained unusually calm throughout the lifting and the subsequent transportation of the Kursk an essential condition for the success of the salvage effort. The operation went on surprisingly trouble-free after technical problems and delays caused by storms during the three- month preparatory works.

The government hopes to determine the cause of the Kursk's sinking. But skeptics say key clues to what caused the disaster are in the Kursk's mangled bow, which was sawed off and left on the seabed out of fear it could destabilize the lifting. The navy plans to raise all or part of the bow next year.

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2001