Russian Battle Cruiser may or may not explode
From the
Mmmm OK department comes these news items:
From Norway's
TV2 Nettavisen:
bq.
Nuclear battle cruiser may explode
The Russian north fleet’s flag ship Pjotr Velikij may explode at any time, according to the Russian navy.
bq. The condition of the ship is so grave that it may explode at any time, stated Vladimir Kuroyedov, the chief of the Russian navy, to AFP Tuesday.
From
Yahoo/Reuters:
bq.
Russian Admiral Causes Flap Over Nuclear Ship Risk
The head of the Russian navy rang alarm bells Tuesday after being quoted saying one of the world's most powerful nuclear warships might be about to blow up.
bq. But Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov then denied making the comment and said he meant only that the Peter the Great, the pride of Moscow's Northern Fleet, was being poorly maintained.
bq. Russian military analysts said the incident may have had less to do with an imminent danger than with rivalries among the top brass of a navy struggling to stay afloat on a budget that has been dramatically cut since its Cold War heyday.
From
Yahoo/AFP:
bq. Russia navy chief's exploding comments set off controversy
But Kuroyedov said Tuesday that he had ordered the ship back into port after finding it in deplorable condition during a visit last week.
bq. "The ship is in such a state that it could explode at any moment," the Interfax news agency quoted Kuroyedov as saying.
bq. "The ship's condition is fine in those places where admirals walk, but where they don't go everything is in such a state that it could explode at any moment. This includes the upkeep of the nuclear reactor," Kuroyedov said.
bq. Peter the Great has two nuclear reactors and an arsenal of cruise missiles that can be tipped with nuclear warheads.
bq. Reports said the 26,000-tonne cruiser's flag was lowered in disgrace as it came into port.
bq. But as alarm grew across Russia, Kuroyedov backtracked on his jarring statement, saying he was misquoted by state news agencies, which for their part refused to retract their reports.
bq. "In this particular case, we are not talking about any danger to the nuclear reactor," the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted Kuroyedov as saying.
I would guess that the real story is somewhere in between... The ship is docked at port, it did come home with it's ensign lowered and given the state of the military budget there, it probably is way overdue for maintenance.
Posted by DaveH at March 23, 2004 12:01 PM