News
Publish date: September 11, 2003
News
In the beginning of September electricity company Kolenergo held a meeting with the representatives of the Northern fleet and the navy shipyards, daily Murmansky vestnik reports. Kolenergo has to purchase extra electricity at the Federal electricity market to supply the Murmansk region and make payments every week while the Northern fleet and the navy shipyards fail to pay the correct sums in time. The Russian Finance Ministry allocated just 47% of the needed money for the Northern Fleet in 2003. Such a situation influences badly on energy safety of the strategic sites, including nuclear ones. Closed city Severomorsk, the main base of the Northern Fleet, has $1.6m debt for the consumed electricity. The Northern Fleet Commander informed the energy company he had ordered to reduce electricity consumption in the units without strategic importance. Kolenergo energy company addressed many times to the Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov and Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin asking them to revise the financial policy towards the Northern Fleet, but it did not help. So, the most powerful fleet of Russia has to save electricity.
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.