News
Publish date: November 3, 1998
Written by: Igor Kudrik
News
The Admiral Ushakov (former Kirov) is to be pulled out of service shortly and scrapped, reported ITAR-TASS. The ship was put into operation in 1980, its design lifetime expireing in 2010. The decision was prompted by lack of funds to repair the ship.
The Russian Navy has three Kirov-class nuclear-powered battle cruisers assigned to the Northern Fleet: the Admiral Ushakov, the Admiral Nakhimov and Peter the Great. The latter was taken into active service in March this year. The forth nuclear-powered battle cruiser of this class, the Admiral Lazarev, has its home base in the Pacific Fleet. Each vessel’ main power installation comprise two PWR type nuclear reactors.
The main problem with nuclear-powered battle cruisers is the lack of properly equipped naval bases and facilities for servicing the nuclear reactors. As a result, both the reactors and the auxiliary power installations onboard these ships have been worn out before their design lifetime expired. The lack of funding to repair these ships has led to their virtual inactivity in later years. An exception so far is Peter the Great which was commissioned recently, although the ship was under repairs one month after it was put to active service this spring. Another serious drawback is the lack of naval base facilities for refuelling the reactors. This issue affected the three oldest battle cruisers and will affect Peter the Great in the future.
Its is unclear which yard will defuel and scrap the Admiral Ushakov. The most apparent candidate is Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, Arkhangel’sk County. The yard is expecting another nuclear battle cruiser, the Admiral Nakhimov, to arrive later this year to undergo repairs. Thus, all the preparations, like deepening of the sea bed to allow vessels of this class to come into the yard’s water area, have been finished by now.
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.