Russian nuclear flagship 'could explode' - navy chief

Russia’s navy chief said today that one of the nation’s most powerful ships, the nuclear-powered Peter the Great missile cruiser, was in such dire condition that it could “explode” at any moment – a statement attributed in some quarters to infighting among naval top brass.

Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov said that the massive cruiser had been badly maintained and could “explode any moment”, adding that “it’s especially dangerous because it has a nuclear reactor”.

At the same time, Kuroyedov said that he had ordered the captain to fix the flagship in two weeks, casting doubt on the credibility of his alarmist statement.

“During that time, the captain must correct all the flaws related to the ship’s maintenance,” Kuroyedov said, according to the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies.

Kuroyedov did not provide details of the ship’s condition, but said the shortcomings also related to maintenance of the ship’s nuclear reactor.

“Everything is all right on the ship where admirals walk, but in the areas where they don’t, everything is in such condition that it may blow up at any moment,” Kuroyedov was quoted as saying.

He ordered the measure after inspecting the ship on exercise in the Barents Sea. The ship’s base is Murmansk.

His statements were particularly shocking because the cruiser, the Northern Fleet’s flagship, was officially named the best ship in the fleet last year.

The business daily Kommersant today 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 Admiral Igor Kasatonov, uncle of the cruiser’s captain, Rear Admiral Vladimir Kasatonov.

Kommersant said that Kuroyedov could be also aiming at the Northern Fleet’s ex-chief, Admiral 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 scrap yard.

Russian media have also criticised 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.

In the latest blow to Russian military prestige, the navy failed to perform missile launches from nuclear submarines during last month’s ambitious manoeuvres personally overseen by Putin.

Kuroyedov claimed that the first of two scheduled launches had never been planned despite numerous earlier announcements to the contrary. The statement was widely ridiculed by Russian media.