Decommissioned sub sinks
2006-06-27 22:03
Moscow - A decommissioned Russian submarine being towed to China for scrap metal sank off the Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka, Russian news reports said on Tuesday.
The tugboat Grif was bringing the unnamed diesel sub from the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatksy, about 6 700km east of Moscow, when the sub lurched and began sinking near the northern Kuril Islands, news agencies reported.
The tugboat tried to return to port, but the sub - which was stripped of its weaponry and other military equipment three years ago - sank completely.
ITAR-Tass and Interfax said poorly sealed hatches were mostly likely to blame.
Since the Soviet break-up, Russia's once formidable navy has fallen on hard times amid a funding crunch.
Nuclear submarines and other atomic-powered vessels have been known to sit for years, rusting in their berths and raising fears of contamination or theft of nuclear materials.
- AP