News
Publish date: November 6, 2001
Written by: Viktor Khabarov
News
16 cruise missiles were unloaded from Kursk. The remaining six missiles of Granit type will be unloaded at the Nerpa shipyard in Snezhnogorsk, Murmansk region. According to the Northern fleet press secretary, Vladimir Navrotsky, this decision has been made due to severe damages of the missile tubes after powerful explosion onboard the Kursk. The missiles should be cut out together with the tubes.
Before transporting the Kursk to the shipyard all the wholes and openings should be plugged and welded.
The shipyard Nerpa in Snezhnogorsk has all the necessary equipment for decommissioning and missiles extraction. Missiles shafts are filled with special foamed polyurethane now in order to fix the missiles position during transportation to the shipyard, the missiles are safe for transportation, Navrotsky said.
The second compartment contains a lot of explosives
While cleaning the debris in the second compartment the investigators found big quantities of the explosives, equal to 150 kg of trotyl. They are the parts of unexploded missiles, which were thrown from the first compartment by the explosion.
The explosives were taken away by the specialists and terminated.
It was decided to work in the second compartment only during day light to minimise the risk for the investigators, who work there. They believe, it will take 3-4 months to clean all the debris on the submarine.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
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.