News

The Amursky Yard went on strike today

Publish date: June 16, 1997

Written by: Igor Kudrik

The Amursky shipbuilding yard, in the Far East of Russia, went on strike today, reports Russian National News Service. The workers demand payment of salaries delayed since November 1996, and general financing of shipbuilding works.

The Amursky Yard (formerly shipyard no.199) at Komsomolsk-na-Amur has operated since 1957, and has a subdivision in Bolshoy Kamen near Vladivostok. Komsomolsk-na-Amur has produced a total of 56 nuclear-powered submarines, in particular of classes Echo-I and -II (projects. 659, 675), Yankee (pr. 667A), Delta-I (pr. 667B), Victor-III (pr. 671 RTM) and Akula (pr. 971). Ceasing construction of nuclear-powered submarines in 1993, the yard reportedly still has one submarine under construction, apparently of Akula class, and apparently without funding.

The Pacific Fleet, a third the size of the Northern Fleet, is suffering from the same problems as its "bigger brother". In 1996, there were only two shipments of spent nuclear fuel to reprocessing plant Mayak, while there are still some 8500 spent fuel assemblies stored at the Pacific Fleet bases. In the end of May, a laid-up submarine sank at one of the Pacific Fleet bases due to corrosion in the hull.