hkskyline
August 15th, 2005, 01:36 AM
Russia marks fifth anniversary of Kursk nuclear submarine sinking
By MARIA DANILOVA
12 August 2005
MOSCOW (AP) - Sailors in dress uniforms stood at attention on a ship's deck Friday as wreaths were tossed into the gray sea to honor 118 of their comrades who perished five years ago when the nuclear submarine Kursk sank.
Ceremonies marking the tragedy's fifth anniversary were held around Russia on Friday, which just a week ago was riveted by another submarine accident that cast the spotlight on what analysts and the Russian media said was a navy ill-equipped to deal with such rescue missions.
"Where is the underwater technology that the navy authorities solemnly promised to get into shape after the Kursk?" the official government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta asked in its Friday issue.
Flags flew at half-mast on most Russian ships as relatives of the victims and ordinary citizens flocked to memorials around the country.
Wreaths were thrown carefully into the water in Vidyayevo, the Kursk's home port. Meanwhile, in the city of Kursk, home to 16 of the submariners who perished and the vessel's namesake, a monument constructed of the submarine's scrap was unveiled and, in an elaborate church ceremony, blessed by an Orthodox priest. Dozens of people, some weeping, laid flowers before the monument.
The Kursk, one of the navy's most sophisticated vessels, was rocked by explosions and sank during naval exercises in the Barents Sea on Aug. 12, 2000 -- horrifying a nation once home to one of the world's mightiest navies.
Most of the 118 Kursk crew were killed instantly by the explosions, but 23 others survived for about eight hours, according to an official probe into the disaster. Many of the relatives, however, believe some of the sailors were alive for days, continuing to send desperate messages for help.
Russia's inability to reach the stranded sailors, compounded by officials' refusal for days to accept foreign help, astounded a nation that, almost exactly five years later, would face a similar ordeal.
On Aug. 5, a mini-sub with seven men on board became trapped deep in the Pacific Ocean, off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. Again, the Russian navy was unable to reach or rescue the crew, prompting questions about whether any lessons had been learned from the Kursk.
This time, however, Russian officials sought and accepted foreign help. Nearly three days later, with oxygen and water supplies dwindling, a British remote-controlled vehicle known as the Scorpio cut the cables blocking the mini-sub from surfacing. All those aboard were saved.
The rescued crew on Friday briefly left a military hospital where they have been recovering to attend a church service.
"We decided to visit a church to give thanks for our survival," Vyacheslav Milashevsky, the mini-sub's captain, said on NTV television.
Speaking to reporters at a Kursk memorial ceremony in Moscow, Russian navy Chief of Staff Adm. Vladimir Masorin said that while the navy had bought foreign rescue gear after the Kursk catastrophe, Russian navy personnel were not yet able to operate it, something that Masorin pledged would be addressed.
"No matter how many vehicles we have, there never will be enough if we can't use them correctly," Masorin said.
He said an underwater rescue craft similar to the Scorpio that Russia previously had bought from Britain was broken due to a human error and couldn't be used in the salvage effort.
"Our people broke it when they started to use it," Masorin said.
Another Russian underwater vehicle that could have been used in the mission would have arrived too late to be of use. Officials have pledged to buy more vehicles similar to the Scorpio.
Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent defense analyst, said that while the Kursk taught Russian officials to ask for foreign help, the "rescue service isn't working, just as it wasn't working back then."
By MARIA DANILOVA
12 August 2005
MOSCOW (AP) - Sailors in dress uniforms stood at attention on a ship's deck Friday as wreaths were tossed into the gray sea to honor 118 of their comrades who perished five years ago when the nuclear submarine Kursk sank.
Ceremonies marking the tragedy's fifth anniversary were held around Russia on Friday, which just a week ago was riveted by another submarine accident that cast the spotlight on what analysts and the Russian media said was a navy ill-equipped to deal with such rescue missions.
"Where is the underwater technology that the navy authorities solemnly promised to get into shape after the Kursk?" the official government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta asked in its Friday issue.
Flags flew at half-mast on most Russian ships as relatives of the victims and ordinary citizens flocked to memorials around the country.
Wreaths were thrown carefully into the water in Vidyayevo, the Kursk's home port. Meanwhile, in the city of Kursk, home to 16 of the submariners who perished and the vessel's namesake, a monument constructed of the submarine's scrap was unveiled and, in an elaborate church ceremony, blessed by an Orthodox priest. Dozens of people, some weeping, laid flowers before the monument.
The Kursk, one of the navy's most sophisticated vessels, was rocked by explosions and sank during naval exercises in the Barents Sea on Aug. 12, 2000 -- horrifying a nation once home to one of the world's mightiest navies.
Most of the 118 Kursk crew were killed instantly by the explosions, but 23 others survived for about eight hours, according to an official probe into the disaster. Many of the relatives, however, believe some of the sailors were alive for days, continuing to send desperate messages for help.
Russia's inability to reach the stranded sailors, compounded by officials' refusal for days to accept foreign help, astounded a nation that, almost exactly five years later, would face a similar ordeal.
On Aug. 5, a mini-sub with seven men on board became trapped deep in the Pacific Ocean, off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. Again, the Russian navy was unable to reach or rescue the crew, prompting questions about whether any lessons had been learned from the Kursk.
This time, however, Russian officials sought and accepted foreign help. Nearly three days later, with oxygen and water supplies dwindling, a British remote-controlled vehicle known as the Scorpio cut the cables blocking the mini-sub from surfacing. All those aboard were saved.
The rescued crew on Friday briefly left a military hospital where they have been recovering to attend a church service.
"We decided to visit a church to give thanks for our survival," Vyacheslav Milashevsky, the mini-sub's captain, said on NTV television.
Speaking to reporters at a Kursk memorial ceremony in Moscow, Russian navy Chief of Staff Adm. Vladimir Masorin said that while the navy had bought foreign rescue gear after the Kursk catastrophe, Russian navy personnel were not yet able to operate it, something that Masorin pledged would be addressed.
"No matter how many vehicles we have, there never will be enough if we can't use them correctly," Masorin said.
He said an underwater rescue craft similar to the Scorpio that Russia previously had bought from Britain was broken due to a human error and couldn't be used in the salvage effort.
"Our people broke it when they started to use it," Masorin said.
Another Russian underwater vehicle that could have been used in the mission would have arrived too late to be of use. Officials have pledged to buy more vehicles similar to the Scorpio.
Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent defense analyst, said that while the Kursk taught Russian officials to ask for foreign help, the "rescue service isn't working, just as it wasn't working back then."