Russian Version of McHale's Navy

Djaughe · March 23rd, 2004, 07:15 AM

:wtf:
Meet the russian commanders ---->

Nuclear cruiser 'could explode'
By Hugh Dougherty and Mark Prigg, Evening Standard
23 March 2004
The nuclear-powered flagship of the Russian navy is today racing to reach port amid fears that it could explode.

Russia's top admiral claimed today the battle cruiser Peter The Great could "explode at any time".

It is now steaming through the Barent Sea in a bid to dock before its nuclear reactor goes into meltdown. On board are up to 500 missiles - some of which may have nuclear warheads.

If the ship explodes it would be the biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl and would not only wipe out the 726-strong crew, but cause serious environmental damage.

The radioactive cloud from an exploded nuclear reactor would travel for hundreds of miles, contaminating everything in its path.

The 826ft, 24,300-tonne battle cruiser is almost 30 years old.

But there was uncertainty over the real state of the ship, with British naval experts saying it was unlikely the Russians would order a ship at risk of nuclear explosion to proceed under its own steam.

Stephen Saunders, editor of Jane's Defence Fighting Ships, said: "I'm confident there is no nuclear safety issue here.

"There is no way the ship would be going back to port if that were the case.

"It is also travelling under its own steam so it would seem highly unlikely there is an issue with the reactor on board.

"I think what has happened is that an admiral's safety inspection has found problems, possibly electrical, and has ordered the ship back to port.

"It might be they are making an example of the ship to prove they are serious about safety."

The drama unfolded after Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, chief of the Russian fleet, toured the ship last week while it conducted exercises in the sea north of its home port of Murmansk.

"The ship is in such a state that it could explode at any moment," he told Russia's official news agency, Interfax.

"The ship's condition is fine in those places where admirals walk, but where they don't go, everything is in such a state.

"This includes the upkeep of the nuclear reactor," he said.

The ship's captain, Rear Admiral Vladimir Kasatonov, has been told to dock the vessel for two weeks, "during which time the ship's commander ... must remove all deficiencies in the ship's upkeep," the Russian navy chief said.

There was speculation that the order to dock the ship immediately was because of a dispute between Admiral Kuroyedov and the captain's uncle, a former admiral, or another dispute with the ex-chief of the Northern Fleet. But safety concerns about the Russian navy have already put it at the centre of international controversy in the wake of the loss of the nuclearpowered Kursk submarine in 2000.

Ironically, there are persistent rumours in Moscow that the Kursk was hit by a cruise missile fired from the Peter the Great.

Another Northern Fleet vessel - a decommissioned K-159 nuclear submarine - sank as it was being taken to a dockyard to be scrapped.

Last month the navy faced further embarrassment when it failed to perform cruise missile launches from nuclear-powered submarines in the Black Sea during exercises overseen personally by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Stronso · March 23rd, 2004, 07:50 AM