Kursk 'had nuclear weapons on board'
Many feared the Kursk was carrying nuclear warheads
The Russian submarine Kursk had nuclear weapons on board when it sank last August, despite Moscow's insistence to the contrary, Norwegian TV has reported.
The TV-2 commercial network quoted a member of the Russian commission investigating the disaster, and a Norwegian expert, who both said that there were atomic weapons on the Kursk.
All 118 sailors on board died when the submarine sank in the Arctic last August, but Russian officials always insisted that only non-nuclear weapons were being carried.
A Russian navy spokesman in Moscow refused to comment on the report.
Secrecy
TV-2 quoted Grigori Tomchin, described as a member of the investigating commission, as saying that he was tired of the secrecy surrounding the wreck.
"We have known that for a long time," he said, in remarks made in Russian and subtitled in Norwegian.
"The military should try openness," said Mr Tomchin, who is a member of the Russian Duma.
His statement was backed up by a Norwegian engineer, who has been central to the planned raising of the Kursk from the seabed.
Harald Ramfjord said he had seen secret Russian documents confirming the presence of nuclear weapons.
"One of the documents I had access to said there were two atomic missiles on board," he said.
Mr Ramfjord was described as working for the Global Tool Management offshore oil group.
A manager for the group in Stavanger confirmed that Mr Ramfjord was an employee and that the group had offered equipment to the rescue effort, but had no information about any weapons which might be on board.
Operation in doubt
TV-2 said that the missiles had 500 kiloton warheads, described as SS N-19 Shipwrecks in Nato terminology.
Mr Ramfjord said he would not go ahead with the operation to raise the Kursk, if the missiles were still there.
The operation to lift the wreck over 100 metres (350 feet) from the seabed is due to start in August, at an estimated cost of $70 million.
It has still not been determined what caused
the Kursk to sink, but one theory is that a
torpedo exploded on board, sending the vessel
to the bottom.
-- Anonymous, April 04, 2001