News
Publish date: June 17, 1997
Written by: Igor Kudrik
News
The Nerpa Yard salary debts to its 3075 employees has reached 5.8 million USD. The reason is lack of funding – Nerpa is working on state orders covering 70% of the yard’s industrial capacity.
The manager of Nerpa has gone to Moscow several times, and almost succeeded in March when promised a 2.7 million USD transferral. But in reality only some 200,000 USD were actually transferred to Nerpa’s accounts. The total debts of the state to Nerpa for salaries and works performed amount to some 24 million USD. At the labour union meeting on June 3, the manager could give no guarantees that the debts will be covered in the foreseeable future. This prompted the decision to go on strike on June 19.
Along with repair work on nuclear-powered submarines and conventional vessels of the Northern Fleet, Nerpa Yard is involved in nuclear-powered subs decommissioning operations. By the beginning of May a plasma torch for cutting subs’ hulls was installed at Nerpa, having been delivered from the US as part of the arms reduction agreements.
An accident aboard numerous Volgoneft oil tankers in the Kerch in mid December clearly show what can happen to aged ships when they are operated in bad weather—and when economic and military objectives are prioritized over the lives of crews and environmental safety.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
A visit last week by Vladimir Putin and a Kremlin entourage to Astana, Kazakhstan sought in part to put Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, on good footing with local officials.