MURMANSK, December 29 (Itar-Tass) — Fire at the nuclear submarine Yekaterinburg, which caught blaze earlier Thursday in the dock of a ship repairs yard near Murmansk, a source in Russia’s military-industrial quarters told Itar-Tass.
In the meantime, eyewitness accounts say thick clouds of smoke can still be seen in the vicinity of the dock where the submarine is being repaired, although there are no open sources of flames.
According to preliminary data, the fire was caused by encroachments on regulations for the technology of repair works.
Reactor of the nuclear submarine Yekaterinburg that was affected by fire Thursday while in the dock of a repair shipyard near Murmansk had been shut down, the region’s Governor, Dmitry Dmitriyenko said in an exclusive interview with Itar-Tass.
He indicated that a signal about a fire, which had broken out at a submarine under repairs at a shipyard in the township of Roslyakovo, had come at 16:15 Thursday.
“The blaze engulfed the outer insulation layer of the submarine and its burning produced a thick smoke screen,” Gov Dmitriyenko said. “The submarine is in the dock and no critical situations are projected, according to the reports I’m getting from my deputy who’s working right on the spot.”
He reiterated that the situation is kept under full control and there is no threat whatsoever of any radioactive contamination.
The township of Roslyakovo where the Ship Repairs Yard No. 82 joint-stock company is located is part of the so-called Severemorsk closed administrative-territorial entity, which means an area where access for outsiders is heavily restricted by security precautions.
Severomorsk is the home city of the main base of the North Fleet, one of the five major territorial divisions of the Russian Navy.