RUSKY SUB - Denied towed sub had nuke reactor problemo

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Current News : One Thread

"...the towing was simply an exercise meant to imitate rescue procedures for a faulty vessel..." My cats think of better excuses than that!

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/114/world/Russian_Navy_denies_report_of_:.shtml

Russian Navy denies report of nuclear submarine accident By Associated Press, 4/24/2001 10:34 MOSCOW (AP) The Russian Navy on Tuesday denied a newspaper report that one of its nuclear submarines suffered an accident during recent exercises in the Barents Sea and couldn't reach harbor under its own power.

The weekly newspaper Versiya's report Tuesday said an unidentified submarine of the Northern Fleet had apparently suffered a reactor shutdown and was towed to its base during naval maneuvers earlier this month.

Navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said a Northern Fleet submarine had indeed been towed to harbor but, he said, the towing was simply an exercise meant to imitate rescue procedures for a faulty vessel. Dygalo dismissed Versiya's claim that the Navy staged the rescue exercise to cover up the submarine's accident.

''The submarine is currently at sea performing a regular training,'' he said.

Dygalo refused to give the submarine's name or type. The Interfax news agency quoted unidentified naval officers as saying it was a project 671 nuclear-powered attack submarine, known as Victor III in the West.

The Russian Navy suffered a severe blow last August when one of its most modern nuclear submarines, the Kursk, exploded and sank during Barents Sea maneuvers, killing all 118 crewmen. The government hasn't determined the disaster's cause. It plans to raise the wreck of the Kursk this fall.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001

Answers

An excuse almost as imaginative as "It was on fire when I lay down on it!"

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001

Moderation questions? read the FAQ