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Submarine «Yekaterinburg» ready for repairs

The fired triggered massive media-coverage in Norway over concerns of possible radioactive leakages. Photo from Blogger51.ru

The nuclear-powered submarine “Yekaterinburg” which was severely damaged in a fire in December will be repaired at Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk outside Arkhangelsk. Repairs start this month and are planned to be finished in 2014.

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The Delta IV-class nuclear submarine caught fire on December 29 while it was in a floating dock at the naval yard Roslyakovo north of Murmansk on Russia’s Kola Peninsula for repairs. The fire led to serious damage of the submarine’s outer hull and hydroacoustic antenna. 

Read all BarentsObserver’s articles on the fire aboard “Yekaterinburg”

According to a source at Zvezdochka shipyard, repairs of the submarine will start on June 21. “After a thorough inspection of the hydroacoustic antenna, specialists have come to the conclusion that it will be significant cheaper to repair it than to replace it”, the source says to RIA Novosti. Right after the accident, experts estimated that it would cost more than one billion rubles to repair the “Yekaterinburg”. RIA Novosti’s source says it will cost “several hundred millions”.

The submarine will also undergo planned upgrading and will be ready for operations again in mid-2014. After the repairs and upgrading, the submarine will stay in service at least until 2018.

“Yekaterinburg” had up to 16 intercontinental “Sineva” missiles, each carrying four nuclear warheads, and 12 torpedoes on board when the fire broke out.