RIA Novosti reports that representatives from the Royal Navy recently held preparatory talks with officials from the Severodvinsk based shipyard Zvezdochka. Since the early 90-ties, Zvezdochka has been the main Russian shipyard for decommissioning of nuclear powered submarines of the Northern Fleet. More than 100 of the Russian Northern fleets submarines have so far been scrapped, many of them with financial support from other countries like Norway and the United Kingdom.
Earlier this week, the British ambassador to Norway and the British Consul General in St. Petersburg visited Murmansk and the shipyard Nerpa, located on the Barents Sea cost. Norway and United Kingdom are together financing the decommissioning of an old November-class attach submarine at the Nerpa shipyard.
At home, the British Royal Navy has at least 11 retired nuclear powered submarines laid-up, floating on sea with their highly radioactive reactors. Accoring to nuclear.ru officials from the Zvezdochka yard say that they can do the scrapping of the British subs within the framework of the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC). This military cooperation, mainly focusing on nuclear safety projects in the Russian north, was initiated by Norway in the mid-90ties, as a three lateral agreement between Norway, Russia and the United States. Great Britain joined the programme in 2003, and Norway ended its active participation in AMEC last year.
If the offer from Zvezdochka materializes the British subs will be put on a huge barge, or towed on sea, all the way up the coast of Norway around the Kola Peninsula to the shipyard located in Severodvinsk in the White Sea, not far from the city of Arkhangelsk. There the submarines (still radioactive) reactor compartment and two adjacent compartments will be sealed hermetically and remove them to a storage facility outside Russia, most likely back to Great Britain.
French officials have also started exploring the possibility of having old French nuclear powered submarines scrapped at Zvezdochka too.
