Rubin Chief Engineer Discusses Various Aspects of Kursk Raising Effort

All possible emergencies were taken into account in preparation for raising the wrecked Russian submarine of Kursk, Interfax quoted Alexander Zavalishin, chief engineer of the Rubin Design Bureau which designed Kursk, as saying on Thursday.

There are official safety rules for the whole operation and documents that "specify technological aspects" of each operation, Zavalishin said in Severodvinsk in Russia's northern Arkhangelsk Oblast.

"Little is left in the first compartment. Approximately one third of its solid hull does not exist," he said. "We were forced to make the decision to cut off the first compartment, as there is a circular crack on which the cut will be done."

"If we tried to raise the entire submarine, the first compartment would break off and cause such a dynamic impact that it would make the operation impossible," he continued.

It will take seven to eight days to cut off the bow of the submarine, he noted. Yet the work may be done even quicker " bearing in mind that we will do the cutting practically by the crack line," he said.

There are 22 missile launchers on board the submarine, and the launchers, 20 of them with munitions inside, are located between the second and fifth compartments, Zavalishin said. There is no danger of detonation, he noted.

The submarine reactor is also safe, Zavalishin said. "Estimates of the engineers show that even the great strain the submarine has experienced did not shift the mechanisms in the sixth reactor compartment," he added.

According to another Interfax report from Severodvinsk, the first of two pontoons that will be used for transporting the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk to a dock was launched Thursday at the Sevmash enterprise in Severodvinsk.

The two pontoons have mooring equipment, a ballast and ventilation systems. Each one is 100 meters long, 15 meters wide and 8.97 meters high, and weighs 1,700 tons. The height of the tower is eight meters. The second pontoon is expected to be launched on August 28.






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