In repair for years
Kyiv: Russia’s only aircraft carrier ‘in critical condition’
1/23/2023 6:51 p.m
The “Admiral Kuznetsov” is Russia’s only aircraft carrier. Moscow might have used this in the Ukraine war – but according to Kiev, its condition leaves a lot to be desired. The 305-meter colossus should set sail once more in 2021 following modernization. It is doubtful that it will be used in the near future.
According to the Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR, the “Admiral Kuznetsov”, Russia’s only aircraft carrier, is in such a bad condition that it can neither move under its own power nor be lowered into the water. Like the HUR in his Telegram channel reported, the Russian military and the management of the shipyard where the “Admiral Kuznetsov” is currently being repaired are trying to blame each other for the “critical condition” of the ship. The information cannot be independently verified.
The “Admiral Kuznetsov” was launched in 1985 and entered service in 1991. In 2017, following completing a mission in the Syrian war – the first and so far only military deployment of the 305-meter colossus – the aircraft carrier was to be repaired and completely modernized. Since then it has been in the shipyard in the northern Russian city of Murmansk. In 2018, the ship suffered a leak when sinking from a floating dock. A crane had also collapsed, tearing a large hole in the deck.
A year later, the “Admiral Kuznetsov” caught fire. Two people died and 14 were injured. On December 22, another fire broke out on the aircraft carrier. According to official information, there were no damages or injuries.
Several rooms filled with muddy water
In order to continue work on the “Admiral Kuznetsov”, it was recently decided to move the ship from the dry dock to one of the shipyard’s berths, HUR reported on Telegram. However, during the preparation of the transport, it was found that the aircraft carrier was not able to move under its own power, the Ukrainian secret service said, without giving information regarding the sources of information.
For this reason, an attempt was made to move the ship with the help of tugs, but this also proved impossible. The shipbuilders warned that the condition of the “Admiral Kuznetsov” does not allow the ship to be launched, as there is a high probability that it would tip over and sink. The ship’s hull was also so badly corroded that several rooms had filled with muddy water, which in turn would make further inspection of the ship’s interior impossible, the Ukrainian intelligence service said.
Conflict between the fleet and the shipyard
According to HUR, once morest this background, a dispute arose between the shipyard and the management of the Russian fleet. As the secret service wrote, the conflicting parties would try to blame each other for the current situation. According to Kiev, the fleet command imposed a fine of one and a half billion rubles (regarding 20 million euros) on the shipyard management for not meeting the repair deadlines. The factory management, in turn, said that the shipyard was not to blame for the deplorable condition of the ship.
“It is very likely that the management of the shipyard’s military department that oversaw the work will be found guilty,” the HUR suspected in the Telegram post, adding that to date, there is not even a rough timetable for the return to service of the aircraft carrier. The warship was supposed to set sail once more in 2021. However, as early as last summer, Russian state media announced that the repair work would last at least until the summer of 2024.
