Nuclear battle cruiser 'in danger of exploding'

[rooboy]

Russia's nuclear battle cruiser Peter the Great has been rushed back to port because it "could explode at any moment," the head of Russia's fleet said today.

"The ship is in such a state that it could explode at any moment," Vladimir Kuroyedov told reporters in Moscow.

He ordered the measure after a tour of the ship on Wednesday last week during naval exercises in the Barents Sea, the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/23/1079939644154.html

[Athame]

1. uh-oh...

THAT's scary. :scared:

Can it be stopped? What does Murmansk say about having the ship in port? I imagine that is one of the tougher decisions an admiral would have to make.

[Aidoneus]

2. that's a bit odd

it could blow up at any moment, so the idea is to get it around MORE people? Probably to have it fixed, but as a first impression..

[Kellanved]

3. here, for those who want learn more about the ship

Brand new (less than ten years that is) Kirov-class cruiser with two 300MW PWR reactors. One primary circuit incident aboard so far.

http://spb.org.ru/bellona/ehome/russia/nfl/news/121196.htm





Edit:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1072264.htm

--snip
...
"The ship is in such a condition that it may blow up any minute," Admiral Kuroyedov said. "It is especially dangerous since the vessel is equipped with a nuclear reactor."

The agency quoted Admiral Kuroyedov as saying he had ordered the ship to be docked for two weeks, "during which the ship's commander ... must remove all deficiencies in the ship's upkeep".

"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," Admiral Kuroyedov said, according to Interfax.

...
--snap

[xchrom]

4. man, now that is scary

[maddezmom]

5. more to the story....

snip~
The business daily Kommersant on Tuesday reported Kuroyedov's decision to declare the Peter the Great unfit for service and said it could have stemmed from his personal conflict with Retired Adm. Igor Kasatonov, uncle of the cruiser's captain, Rear Adm. Vladimir Kasatonov.

Kommersant said that Kuroyedov could be also aiming at the Northern Fleet's ex-chief, Adm. Gennady Suchkov, who had been temporarily relieved of his duties pending the official investigation into his role into the sinking of a decommissioned nuclear fleet submarine in August.

Kuroyedov sought to shift the blame for the sinking to Suchkov, but Kasatonov said during court hearings this month that Kuroyedov bears the main responsibility for the disaster, which killed nine of 10 crewmen on board the K-159 submarine when it sank in a howling storm on its way to a scrapyard.

Russian media also have criticized Kuroyedov over his role in the August 2000 sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine and his failure to improve the navy's degrading condition. Many expected President Vladimir Putin to fire Kuroyedov, but he has managed to cling to the job.
~snip~
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-russia-navy,0,6970337.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

[Almost_there]

6. Not completely clear...

I didn't get from the article if this would be a chain reaction / China Syndrome type explosion, or if the ship was in such a shambles that it was just in danger of collapse.

I mean, if the ship explodes from something other than its reactors, well, the reactors SHOULD be off and cold, and would just be like bricks sinking to the harbor floor. I hope. Where the vessels can be removed.

This is just a sad comment on what has become of Russia's once great Navy.

[BiggJawn]

7. All the safety gear has been sold on Ebay?

I swear, you'd think you could buy enough Russian naval equipment on Ebay to build your own warship...

[renegade000]

15. not a bad idea

in light of: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x923475

;)

[slack]

8. The Pjotr Weliki is a very modern Ship

It's build in 1999 and the flagship of the russian north-sea fleet. It's known for it's role in the Kursk desaster.
The state of the ship can't be bad, I think this interfax news means, that this ship got a nuclear accident. Perhaps a core meltdown or something like this.

[Cooley Hurd]

9. It doesn't go into specifics about what exactly...

...is about to explode, although they say it's related to the reactor. Heaven knows the Russians (and, by extension, its former incarnation, the USSR) aren't very up front about their technological failures.

[truthisfreedom]

10. so why did they tell everyone?

seems like the kind of thing you keep under wraps. until it melts down and you have to bury it under a million tons of concrete.

[daleo]

11. It seems odd to let the world know their naval situation like this

Possibly a bit of bureaucratic infighting and consequent hyperbole in the Russian navy coming out in the press.

[dArKeR]

12. Russian nuclear cruiser ordered back to port - IOL

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=3&art_id=qw108003654036R254&set_id=1

[Moderator]

13. kick

[Chicago Democrat]

14. Russian Floating Nuclear Bomb? Jeeez what next...

Illustrates why the only Weapons of Mass Destruction we have to worry about are the ones we already know about.

Stop the madness, put teeth in the IAEA! Bring Istael,India and Pakistan in line! Monitor all nuclear weapons and reactors!

WHY ISNT THIS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY!!

[DemoTex]

16. A mobile Chernobyl?

Just where the hell is the Peter the Great right now? Off the coast of Charleston?