Tag Archives: submarine fire

Russia nuclear sub fire could have caused catastrophe: report cites navy official

A mourner touches a photograph at the grave of Captain third rank Vladimir Sukhinichev during the funeral of Russian sailors, who were recently killed in a fire on a secret nuclear research submarine in the area of the Barents Sea, at Serafimovskoye cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia July 6, 2019. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A fire aboard a top-secret Russian nuclear submarine could have led to a “catastrophe of global proportions” if not for the selfless actions of the crew, a senior navy official was cited by a Russian media outlet as saying.

Fourteen submariners were killed on July 1 during a fire in a deep-water research submersible that was surveying the sea floor near the Arctic, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry.

Russian officials have faced accusations of trying to cover up the full details of the incident on the top secret vessel. President Vladimir Putin only acknowledged publicly there had been a nuclear reactor on board three days after it happened.

The sailors were buried on Saturday in St Petersburg at a funeral ceremony that was closed to the public.

“They all shared one and the same fate – to save the lives of their comrades, to save their vessel and to prevent a catastrophe of global proportions at the cost of their own lives,” Sergei Pavlov, an aide to the Russian navy’s commander, was quoted as saying at the funeral by St Petersburg media outlet Fontanka on Saturday.

In the comments from Pavlov quoted in Russian media, there was no explanation of how the fire could have resulted in a global catastrophe. Russian officials have said the crew contained the fire and isolated the submarine’s nuclear reaction.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on a conference call he was unaware of the comments made by officials at the funeral and was therefore unable to comment.

Putin last week bestowed Russia’s highest state award – the title of Hero of Russia – on four of the men and granted another top state award — the Order of Courage — to the 10 others.

Putin has said that the submarine was manned by an elite and senior crew, two of whom already held the Hero of Russia title before their final mission.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Andrew Osborn; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Alison Williams)

Russia accused of cover-up over lethal submarine fire

Russian navy ships and a submarine take part in a naval parade at the port of Severomorsk, Russia July 31, 2016. Picture taken July 31, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

By Tom Balmforth

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian commentators have challenged officials for not releasing full details about an accident on board a military submarine that killed 14 sailors.

The incident took place on Monday, according to the Defence Ministry, but was not officially disclosed until late on Tuesday. Nearly two days on, there was still no word on whether the submarine was nuclear-powered.

Some Russian media accused officials of starving the public of details and drew parallels with the dearth of official information during the meltdown of a Soviet nuclear reactor in Chernobyl in 1986.

The ministry said on Tuesday the sailors had been killed in a fire on what it described as a deep-water research submarine surveying the seabed near the Arctic.

The type of vessel was not specified and there were few details of the circumstances beyond the fact that it had been in Russian territorial waters and the fire had been extinguished.

“Absolutely nothing is known at the moment – who, what… I don’t understand one thing: why did a day go by and only then did they make the statement about the deceased?” said Yevgeny Buntman, an anchor for the Ekho Moskvy radio station. “Why don’t we know their names? Is this normal?”

The Bell, a news site often critical of the government, wrote: “Nearly a day without information about the accident in a nuclear facility and the need to look out for Norwegian statements about the level of radiation should have given a shudder to those who remember the Chernobyl nuclear power station.”

A view shows Russian navy ships at the port of Severomorsk, Russia July 27, 2016. Picture taken July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

A view shows Russian navy ships at the port of Severomorsk, Russia July 27, 2016. Picture taken July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

SECRET SUB

Norway’s authorities said on Tuesday they had not detected any abnormal radiation.

Asked on Wednesday if the vessel had a nuclear reactor on board, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred the question to the defense ministry.

He told reporters in a conference call that details of the submarine were classified, but that information had been provided in good time.

The media outlet RBC cited an unnamed military source on Tuesday as saying the submarine was an AS-12, which is powered by a nuclear reactor and designed to carry out special operations at extreme depths.

That vessel, nicknamed the “Losharik”, was launched in 2003 and is one of the most secret submarines in the Russian fleet.

Several hours before the official statement, blogger Yevgeny Karpov reported a fire on a vessel belonging to the Northern Fleet, but he then took down the report at the fleet’s request, he told the Meduza news site.

The fire is one of the deadliest submarine accidents since August 2000, when the nuclear-powered Kursk sank to the floor of Barents Sea, killing all 118 men aboard.

Authorities then, and in particular President Vladimir Putin, who was at the beginning of now almost two decades as president or prime minister, came under fire for their slow response and shortcomings in the rescue operation.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Christian Lowe; additional reporting by Anastasia Teterevleva; Editing by Kevin Liffey)