The Russian Northern Fleet (Russian: Северный флот, Severny Flot) is an operational-strategic part of the Russian Navy. It is the youngest of the Russian fleet, established in 1933.
The fleet's headquarters are in the closed town Severomorsk, where the main base and administrative centre for several bases located throughout the Kola Gulf are located.
The Northern Fleet is the most powerful of Russia’s four fleets. About two thirds of all the Russian Navy's nuclear force is based there. The fleet consists of nuclear-powered missile and torpedo submarines, missile warships, aircraft carriers and anti-submarine ships. Russia’s only operating aircraft carrier, “Admiral Kuznetsov”, belongs to the Northern Fleet. The flagship of the Northern Fleet is the nuclear-powered large guided missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky.
In 2008, the Russian Navy resumed its presence on the world’s oceans after several years of low activity. Northern Fleet vessels operated in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean Sea.
”Kursk” sail sold as scrap metal
Kursk tower (Photo TV21.ru)
The sail (tower) of the Northern Fleet submarine “Kursk”, which sank with 118 sailors in the Barents Sea in 2000, was last week found rusting at a scrap metal ground in Murmansk.
The submarine sail was brought to the scrap metal ground six years ago, TV 21 reports. It was meant to be part of a memorial over the accident that was to be raised by the church Saviour on the Water in Murmansk, but because of lack of funding, no memorial has so far been made. Neither the town authorities nor the Northern Fleet or any private enterprises have given money to raise a memorial. The sum needed for the memorial is said to be a little more than 22.000 EUR. One year ago the sail was sold to a scrap metal receiving station in Murmansk by unknown persons.
Northern Fleet Commander Nikolay Maksimov has promised to take the submaine sail’s fate under his personal control, Newsru.com writes. He was deeply indignant over the information about the sail being left to rust at a scrap metal ground and says he will use all his efforts to make the sail into a memorial over the accident.
The nuclear submarine ”Kursk” sank in the Barents Sea after an explosion on board during preparations to fire dummy torpedoes. All the 118 persons on board were killed. The submarine was raised from the sea bottom in a large international operation in 2001 and brought to a ship yard in Roslyakovo for scrapping.
Watch video about the case at Izvestiya
Post a comment *Collapse threads *Show all- Kursk Sail
Posted by Clive (Crockadillapig AT aol DOT com) [2009-03-30]
- Crocodile's tears and comments
Posted by DanielB (padawane113 AT hotmail DOT fr) [2009-03-31]
- Kursk's sail as scrap......
Posted by bob melley (bob AT ndr DOT com) [2009-03-30]
