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Rubin Makes Cautious Comments on Examination of Kursk's Fragments
The Rubin central naval design bureau in St. Petersburg has neither confirmed nor denied its receipt of a piece of the Kursk for investigating the reasons behind the submarine's sinking, said an Interfax report Monday, December 4.
"Any comments about the Kursk are the prerogative of the governmental commission," the Interfax quoted Rubin Deputy General Director Gennady Sorokin as saying.
A high-ranking Northern Fleet officer, on condition of anonymity, Sunday told the Interfax that Rubin experts are examining a dent cut out from the Kursk's right side.
Sorokin confirmed that some pieces of the Kursk's fragments collected from the bed of the Barents Sea were delivered to Rubin on November 24.
"What these fragments are, where they are from and what conclusions will be drawn from examining them will be announced together with the results of previous studies at the appropriate time," he said.
"We do not plan to keep anything secret from the public, but our work should not be hindered."
"The examination will go on until the reason for the tragedy in the Barents Sea is found out," he added.
Sorokin also mentioned the creation of an international aid consortium, saying a relevant document will be signed before the end of December.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, head of the ad hoc governmental commission investigating the Kursk's sinking, said the consortium is to be comprised of four companies -- the US- Norwegian Halliburton that helped in the body retrieval operation, two Dutch companies and Rubin itself.
The Kursk sank on August 12 in a military exercise of the Northern Fleet, with all 118 crew on board killed.
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