Wrecked Russian Cruiser 'Drydocked'

Russian cruiser sealed off from the sea to allow final demolition

An excavation pier around the Russian warship Murmansk that took three years to build has now been sealed, and within weeks the contractor will start the final phase of demolishing the old battleship, reports the 'Barents Observer'.

On Christmas Eve 1994 the 1955-built cruiser “Murmansk” was being towed from its home port towards India for scrapping. Off the coast of Finnmark the towline of the decommissioned Russian cruiser broke and it ran ashore near the small Norwegian town of Sørvær. In 2009 the Norwegian Government decided to remove the wreck. but, it has been a huge job with several setbacks.

"We have finally succeeded in getting the dock watertight and "Murmansk" is now out in the open. We have chosen not to drain the pool completely because we do not want to expose the construction of unnecessary stress. We can easily demolish most of the ship as it is situated now", says project manager and senior adviser Knut Arnhus in the Norwegian Coastal Administration.

The wreck is in very bad condition since waves and hard weather has torn it for almost 20 years. The contractor will not try to get into the ship before it has been opened thoroughly from the outside, and then they will tear it apart piece by piece.