"Stop already tormenting him." Why the cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" caught fire

The fire on the aircraft -wire cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov began on December 12 at 12:00 during welding work. The ship stood at the Zvezdochka shipyard, during the repair in the Energooskk at the lower deck of the ship, electric cables lit up. According to disasters of the Murmansk region, 12 people were injured, they were taken to the Murmansk City Clinical Hospital and to the Murmansk Regional Clinical Multidisciplinary Center. Most of them were poisoned by combustion products. The fate of the three disappeared all day remained unknown. By evening, rescuers discovered the body of one deceased. This is not the first emergency of the cruiser in recent years.

What is known about the fire

According to the Investigative Committee of the Murmansk Region, by 14:30 Moscow time a fire was localized by military personnel from the crew of the ship, who accompanied the repair work, as well as firefighters of the shipyard. During a fire on the ship, about 400 people worked , they were evacuated.

According to TASS, with reference to emergency services, 10 people were injured, six of them are in intensive care: these are members of the ship’s crew and employees of the shipyard. Most of the victims were poisoned by combustion products, one received a traumatic brain injury. The condition of only one victim is assessed as a mild severity.

According to Baza, during the fire, the captain of the third rank disappeared, the commander of the division of emergency rescue work Viktor Izmailov, he was responsible for the repair of Admiral Kuznetsov. His search continues. In total, the missing are three people, 12 victims were sent to the Murmansk hospitals, the reason is "departing combustion products."

The fireman, working at the public site, told the North. Real to the correspondent that the fire continued at 17.25, "they had not yet reached the fire, three people were not found."

Versions about the causes of fire

According to the president of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (OSK) Alexei Rakhmanov, the reason for the fire on the aircraft -wing cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov could become the "human factor" during welding.

"There was a hignance on the lower decks. Due to the presence of dismantled equipment and fire hazardous liquids on this deck, a local fire occurred," he told Interfax. You can evaluate the damage from what happened after the fire is completely extinguished and it will be possible to go into the affected compartments, he added.

The shipping expert Mikhail Voitenko told the Sever. Real to the site that fires during the repair often occur, not only on warships, but also on civilian and civil, and in this regard, the cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov was no exception.

-This is repairs, and in repairs, especially on warships, and far from only Russian, but around the world there are some such emergencies, fires and so on are not uncommon. Fires are generally the most frequent emergency during the repair of not only warships, but also civilians. The welder or someone responsible did not see for the necessary fire safety measures, so what? This has nothing to do with the cruiser. Everyone speaks simply: enough to torment him and torment everyone, is it time for him just to rest, ”said Voitenko.

Repair "Admiral Kuznetsov" and other emergency

On October 30, 2018, during the withdrawal of Admiral Kuznetsov, during the repair of the cruiser, the floating dock-PD-50 sank. The emergency occurred at the 82nd Shipyard in the village of Roslyakovo Murmansk region. Then two tower cranes fell, one of them on the deck of the aircraft carrier. The mechanic of the plant died.

Then in the OSK they argued that the emergency would not affect the deadlines for completing the repair and modernization of the admiral Kuznetsov cruiser. Later, according to the FlotProm military edition, it turned out that during the fall of the crane, the aircraft carrier received 52 damages. According to OSK, the elimination of these consequences will cost about 70 million rubles.

Military journalist Alexander Golts believes that the story of the repair of the cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov", of course, will enter the annals of the Navy to the same extent as his "going to the shores of Syria" ( in October 2016, the Creurezer "Admiral Kuznetsov" proceeded to the shores of Syria through the Strait of La-Channel: a trace of black smoke behind the ship, which stretched over hundreds of meters, which stretched out hundreds Called a lot of jokes.

-If, from the first <campaign in Syria>, you can, so to speak, make a heroic epic, then Kuznetsov’s repair has turned into some kind of accidents, disasters, which, alas, in my opinion, indicate the degree of preparation and level of order of both the northern Fleet and at industrial enterprises, where the repair of Admiral Kuznetsov takes place. A few months ago, the crane collapsed and practically disabled the only floating dock in which this cruiser was located. Now this fire is in the energy installation, and the military, not embarrassed, suggests that fuel caught fire, which for some reason was in large quantities on the repaired ship, that the hot metal began to drip on the deck and so on. All this speaks of a very low level of order in everything that is happening around Admiral Kuznetsov, ”Golts believes.

Golts calls the situation around the repair of the ship with "feverish activity", which leads to unnecessary hype and similar incidents.

According to Voitenko, in general, the cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" has a difficult and gloomy story associated with numerous accidents and emergency.

Dead dozens. Some unsuccessful ship, continuously from unhappiness to misfortune

- How many people died there - it is simply unknown, it is probably necessary to specifically calculate, but a lot. According to my estimates, dozens of dead. Some unsuccessful ship, continuously from unhappiness to misfortune. In general, this whole series is unsuccessful. His twins, who were sold to India and China, also pursue misfortunes. In Russia, only the most stubborn patriots are trying to praise him, although there are a lot of critical materials about him among Russian experts. He is also criticized by military publications that are not distinguished by a special criticism of the Russian armed forces, ”says Voitenko.

Admiral Kuznetsov became part of the North Sea Fleet in 1990, five years after the launching at the Black Sea Shipbuilding Plant. The length of the avian -caring cruiser is 306 meters, the largest width is 72 meters, a full displacement is 59,000 tons. In addition to the aircraft wing (Su-33 and MiG-29K fighters, as well as Ka-52, Ka-29 and Ka-27 helicopters), the cruiser is armed with the P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles, the Klin and Kashtan anti-aircraft missile systems.

The contract for the repair and modernization of the ship was signed in April 2018, it is performed by the 35th SRZ (part of the Zvezdochka ship repair center). The cost of work will be 60 billion rubles. According to the initial plan, they should end by the end of 2020, and after the tests the ship should return to the Navy in 2021. In December 2019, Alexei Rakhmanov said that according to the new schedule of work on the cruiser, they would end in 2022.

According to Vedomosti , the amount of damage caused to the cruiser will be known exactly after the special commission from the command of the Northern Fleet and Shipbuilders conducts a study of damage. But now it is clear that the cruiser should not wait even in the adjusted deadlines, the interlocutor of Vedomosti is convinced. However, even after what happened, Admiral Kuznetsov’s write-off is not conducted, the interlocutor of the publication in the Main Headquarters of the Navy says: the ship ”must be returned to the system at all costs, since the construction of the new aircraft carrier will begin no earlier than 2030, and pilots from the 279th and 100th ship-fighting air regiments must be practiced not only on terrestrial training simulators.”