Russian Sub News

Russia’s Stary Oskol submarine, the third boat in Project 636.3 series for the Black Sea Fleet, on a voyage to its permanent base has passed the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, TASS quoted the Black Sea Fleet spokesman Vyacheslav Trukhachev as saying. Stary Oskol is the third submarine in the series of six submarines built for the Black Sea Fleet at the Admiralty Verfi Shipyards in St. Petersburg. The Russian Black Sea Fleet currently operates four Project 636.3 submarines. The fleet is to receive a total of six submarines of this project. Equipped with cruise missiles "Caliber-PL," the submarine made transition from the Northern Fleet to the Black Sea Fleet. The passage was watched over by a Turkish escort ship and patrol boat.

Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Co Ltd (PDOC) has announced a joint venture (JV) with Russia's JSC Ship Repairing Centre Zvyozdochka for medium refits and life certification of eight EKM 877 submarines in the country. This positions PDOC nicely for overhauling India's nine Russian-origin kilo-class submarines, and several identical submarines operated by other regional navies. Pipavav, in which Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group is in the process of acquiring a majority stake, proposes to execute the programme under a joint venture with 51 per cent stake, consistent with MoD regulations, a company statement said. This would be the first time the work for refit of submarines was being considered for the private sector in the country.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Russian officials reported that the Russian Akula-class submarine was undergoing sea trials Saturday with 208 people aboard when its fire-extinguishing system activated in error, spewing Freon gas that suffocated the victims and injured 21 others. With little official information emerging yet about the precise cause, experts said overcrowding and human errors may have contributed to the accident and the casualty toll aboard the Nerpa on Nov. 8 — the worst on a Russian sub since the Kursk disaster killed 118 seamen in 2000. (Source: Associated Press)

Russia on Monday asked Norway to help recover 118 corpses trapped in the wreck of the Kursk submarine off northern Russia, the Norwegian foreign ministry said. A team of Norwegian divers earlier on Monday concluded that all sailors aboard were dead after opening the hatch and examining the wreck of the sub on the floor of the Barents Sea. The divers had been investigating a flooded airlock over the Kursk's inner escape hatch to see if there was any chance of finding survivors in the vessel, lying on the seabed 108 meters (354 ft) down. Norwegian captain Erlend Raanes, another Norwegian spokesman, told Reuters the divers had opened the hatch and found the compartment behind full of water. "They did not go inside," he said.

Indecision from Russia regarding help from foreign nations in aiding efforts to rescue an estimated 118 sailors trapped in a Nuclear submarine lying on the bottom of the Barents Sea evaporated today, as Norway said that divers due to join a British bid to save 118 Russian sailors trapped in a submarine on the bed of the Barents Sea would arrive on Saturday. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said on Thursday the situation around the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk was "next to catastrophic", but he hoped chances remained to save its 118 crew, Russian news agencies reported. "During the past night there were no changes for better or worse," Interfax news agency quoted Kasyanov as telling a government meeting.

Indecision from Russia regarding help from foreign nations in aiding efforts to rescue an estimated 118 sailors trapped in a Nuclear submarine lying on the bottom of the Barents Sea evaporated today, as Norway said that divers due to join a British bid to save 118 Russian sailors trapped in a submarine on the bed of the Barents Sea would arrive on Saturday. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said on Thursday the situation around the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk was "next to catastrophic", but he hoped chances remained to save its 118 crew, Russian news agencies reported. "During the past night there were no changes for better or worse," Interfax news agency quoted Kasyanov as telling a government meeting.

Russia's navy said on Wednesday it had launched a new attempt to rescue 116 sailors trapped in a powerless nuclear submarine grounded on the bed of the Barents Sea since the weekend. Itar-Tass news agency quoted the navy press office as saying the operation started at 8 a.m. A spokesman said the last time rescue vessels in the area monitored SOS signals tapped by the submarine crew was on Tuesday afternoon. The vessels monitor tapping using electronic equipment. Navy commander Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov said on Tuesday that if attempts to dock with the submarine fail, the whole vessel could be lifted using pontoons. Officials say the Kursk's oxygen supply could last until Friday.

Russia signed a deal with an American company - the Norwegian arm of Halliburton -- to recover at least some of the bodies of the 118 sailors who died when the submarine sank to the bottom of the Arctic ocean in August. The Rubin design bureau, which designed the nuclear-powered Kursk, signed a contract with Halliburton to provide what is essentially logistical support for an operation to be carried out by Russian deep-sea divers. But the logistical and technical difficulties of the operation, which will begin in just over two weeks, mean that perhaps as few as 30 or 35 bodies may be recovered, at least until the entire vessel is raised next year.

According to a CNN report a rescue vessel is attempting to drag a disabled mini-submarine with seven sailors onboard to shallower waters off Russia's Pacific coast. Accoding to the CNN report, Interfax news agency quoted Adm. Victor Federov, the commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, as saying the vessel was trying to raise the submarine as it was being towed in about 190 meters (600 feet) of water. However, although Federov said some sort of object was secured and was being towed, it was unclear if it was the sub. Underwater cameras are being placed to identify the object. The situation started Thursday when the AS-28 mini-submarine became entangled in a fishing net during a military exercise off the Kamchatka peninsula.

The Russian AS-28 mini-submersible has was successfully raised, and all crew were recovered alive. The sub became tangled last Thursday after setting out on a training mission off the coast of the Kamchatka peninsula. It got stuck in fishing nets, along with hoses and cables that are understood to be part of a system of top-secret underwater antennae for Russia's anti-submarine monitoring efforts along the peninsula. There were two 60-ton anchors tying down the antennae.

U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Rebecca J. Underneath a portrait of Czar Peter the Great, the Russian Ambassador to the United States presented two U.S. officers with the Order of Friendship for their parts in rescuing submariners trapped underwater off the Kamchatka peninsula in August. Ambassador Yuri V. Ushakov presented the awards, the highest honor to non-Russian citizens, to Air Force Maj. Patrick Poon and Navy Lt. Cmdr. Steve Smith at the Russian Embassy here. Both men said it was due to the combined efforts of all on the team that seven Russian submariners survived their Priz AS-28 deep submergence submarine ordeal. Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Gen. Peter Pace and Undersecretary of State Robert Joseph attended the ceremony. Aug.