#2 - RW 272
Transitions Online/ gazeta.ru
2 September 2003
Another Russian Submarine Tragedy
from Gazeta.ru

The tragedy that claimed the lives of nine mariners on 30 August--when a 40-year-old nuclear-powered K-159 submarine sank in the Barents Sea on its way to a scrap yard--has brought back painful memories of the Kursk submarine disaster, in which 118 sailors died three years ago. Russian authorities have blamed the latest loss on the habitual negligence of the military, which towed the vessel despite adverse weather warnings. The captain in charge of the operation was suspended, pending an investigation.

A former attack submarine that was decommissioned in 1989, the K-159 sank in a gale in the Barents Sea on 30 August, as it was towed along the Kola Peninsula. Nine of the 10 crewmen were killed; rescuers retrieved the bodies of two of them from the 10-degree Celsius waters. Lieutenant Maxim Tsibulsky was rescued and admitted to a Northern Fleet hospital in Severomorsk.

On 31 August, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov visited Tsibulsky in the hospital and assured him that the crew was not to blame. “There are no complaints against you ... you were only a witness,” Ivanov told Tsibulsky.

Ivanov lashed out, however, at those in charge of the operation, blaming a Russian habit of ''relying on mere chance'' and the lax attitude of navy chiefs.

“Once again, we've seen the recurrence of an old Russian habit of relying on mere chance and hoping that everything will work out fine,” Ivanov told reporters, speaking on board a missile cruiser observing search operations.

The submarine was being towed to a scrap yard when the floating hulls supporting it broke loose in a fierce storm. The hulls were not attached properly, Navy sources said. The vessel went down three miles (five km) northwest of Kildin Island.

On 30 August, navy commanders assured the defense minister that radiation levels, where the K-159 sank, were normal--both nuclear reactors were shut down in 1989 when the vessel was decommissioned.

Ivanov confirmed that the sunken submarine posed no threat to the Barents Sea environment. Radiation levels in the area are normal and “there is no cause for concern now and there should not be in the future,” he said.

Independent environmentalists voiced concern over the situation, warning of a possible radiation leak that could contaminate the fishing area.

“The risks are very high,” said Alexander Nikitin, a retired navy captain who heads the St. Petersburg branch of the Bellona Foundation, a Norwegian environmental group. Nikitin said that the uranium fuel, which was loaded into the submarine's reactors about 30 years ago, was more radioactive and dangerous than a fresher load would be.

At a press conference on 31 August, Ivanov said the K-159, like the Kursk, would be raised. The operation could take months because of technical reasons. According to the minister, a thorough investigation into the accident will be held, and all those responsible will be punished. Sergei Zhemchuzhny, commander of the submarine unit in charge of the operation, was suspended.

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