The secret under the waves

Specially za "Time" iz Moscow

It was very cheerful in Sevastopol for the Day of the Russian Navy on July 29. A beautiful, sunny day, colorful flags, paratroopers jumping out of airplanes emitting colorful smoke, 28 warships on parade, two presidents, Ukrainian Leonid Kuchma and Russian Vladimir Putin, watching it all beautifully through binoculars. There were even reasons to smile - until four years ago, Russia and Ukraine were arguing over the division of the once powerful Soviet Black Sea Fleet, as well as over Sevastopol itself, its home port. Sevastopol eventually fell to Ukraine, but Russia leases it long-term as a base for its part of the war fleet. Elem, Navy Day was celebrated in Sevastopol as befits, even President Putin declared that he signed a document that will "strengthen Russia's national interests and its international status as one of the leading maritime powers".

GLORIOUS I MORE SO MUCH MORE: In distant Vladivostok, the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet, it was already more gloomy. Both because of the fierce wind and heavy rain, and because of what Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov had to say: "I sincerely hope and believe that the Pacific Fleet will gradually come out of the coma it has been in for the past few years." I guess to improve the impression, Ivanov added that the navy "even considering all the difficulties that exist in the country, all in all, is still capable of fighting".

But the gloomiest was at the headquarters of the Northern Fleet, in Murmansk, where this year's celebration was canceled for the first time in the history of this fleet. Instead of a celebration, a modest commemoration was held in honor of 118 sailors and officers who disappeared exactly one year ago (August 12, 2000) in the icy waters of the Barents Sea. "We believe that it would be wrong to tarnish the memory of our comrades who died in the line of duty by celebrating maltene exactly on the anniversary of their death." I believe that everyone will understand our move", said the commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Vyacheslav Popov. While the admiral was holding the letter, not far from Murmansk divers began drilling holes in the double metal shell of the Kursk submarine. Work is being done quickly in order to extract the greater part of the submarine from the bottom of the sea by mid-September, while the weather conditions are as favorable as possible. However, there are no guarantees that the work will be done, the Barents Sea is known for its sudden wildness when the time is not right...

PLAN I REALIZATION: But if everything goes according to plan, most of the submarine should be in dry dock by the end of September. Holes are currently being drilled for the steel cables that will be attached to the huge pontoons and, with the help of 26 hydraulic cranes, will raise the Kursk to the surface of the sea. Before that, divers and special machines will cut off the front part of the submarine, which, at least for now, will remain on the seabed. This is the plan, and anything can still go wrong.

In the forward part, there are weapons, torpedoes and probably some missile weapons. It is assumed that all weapons have exploded, but what if they haven't and what if another explosion occurs while cutting the hull. Then, all steel cables must withstand the pressure of lifting the hull to the surface evenly, which also applies to all hydraulic cranes. If one gives way... However, even if everything goes well and the remains of the Kursk appear on the surface of the sea, the danger will not pass yet. The pontoon structure needs to reach the harbor and dry dock, and sudden storms and high waves could be deadly.

We should not forget the danger posed by the nuclear reactor at Kursk. For now, the reactor is not working and there is no radiation, says Aleksandar Kiryushin, director of the institute that built the reactor on the ill-fated submarine. "The level of radiation that was measured corresponds to the normal radioactive level of the Barents Sea." Nikolai Ponomaryev Stepnoi, vice president of the Kurchatov Institute, Russia's leading nuclear research facility, says the submarine's emergency system did its job and shut down the reactor during the accident. "No radioactive substances were spilled." We also performed all the preparatory actions and predicted all possible situations that may occur during the raising of the submarine to the surface, transportation and accommodation in the port. Together with the main designer of the submarine, we concluded that even if everything goes well, and in the event of any emergency, the nuclear reactor will remain in its current safe state." take into account the possibility of collisions, explosions and other emergencies.

But despite these assurances, numerous environmental organizations are in favor of leaving the reactor on the seabed and covering it with a layer of concrete, believing that it would be safer. Especially since the extraction of the intended part of Kursk will most likely not reveal the secret of its disaster. Namely, the key is located in the front part that will remain on the seabed.

EXPLOSION, ALI WHAT: Even a year after the tragedy, its true cause is not known. Images from the sea floor indicate that the front section where the weapons are located is blown up as if it were made of cardboard, not a double layer of titanium. This is confirmed by the records of seismological stations in neighboring countries (Russian data have not been published) that two explosions took place, first a weaker one, and then a much stronger one. By all accounts, this indicates that one torpedo exploded first (during firing?) and that this impact then caused the detonation of at least another part of the armament. Western analysts are most inclined to this theory, adding that apparently it was a test of a new type of torpedo whose fuel was not stable enough. At the beginning, the Russian side claimed that it was a collision with another ship or submarine, most likely a Western one that was following the course of Russian naval exercises. Or, if not the collision, then the sudden maneuver that the captain of the Kursk was forced to do in order to avoid the collision. However, there was no evidence of the presence of foreign ships in that part, and the collision would have caused damage to the second submarine in any case, however, no parts of the second submarine were found on the seabed to support this theory. To this day, however, the Russian authorities have not explained whether there were any experimental weapons on the ill-fated submarine, nor what exactly a submarine like the Kursk was looking for in such shallow waters. The Kursk sank in a place where the seabed is only 109 meters deep, which is roughly the length of a submarine. If it were placed vertically, it would stick out of the water. As a rule, submarines of this type are intended for the depths of the ocean, and not for coastal shallows. So far, 12 bodies have been recovered from the Kursk during diving operations last year, and there will likely be more if and when the hull is recovered. But, at least for now, the mystery of their death will remain covered by the waves.