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Minor damage inflicted to Russia’s sole aircraft carrier by fire

The incident is unlikely to affect the aircraft carrying cruiser's repairs schedule, according to the sources
Aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov Lev Fedoseyev/TASS
Aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov
© Lev Fedoseyev/TASS

MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. The fire that recently broke out aboard Russia’s sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov inflicted minor damage to the warship and is unlikely to affect its repairs schedule, two sources in the shipbuilding industry told TASS on Tuesday.

"The accommodation cabins with garbage burnt out and that is why the fire will certainly not affect the timeframe of the aircraft carrier’s repairs," one source said.

The other source noted that "close to the burnt-out premises there were auxiliary diesel generators as well as containers with 140 tonnes of diesel fuel and 30 tonnes of machinery oil, which, fortunately, were unaffected."

"According to the preliminary information, the ship did not sustain any serious damage," the source added.

President of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov told TASS on Monday that the corporation would be able to give the first results of the probe into the fire on the aircraft carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov in two weeks’ time after a special commission completes its work. Last week, Rakhmanov told TASS that the fire was unlikely to affect the schedule of the warship’s repairs expected to be through in 2022.

The Zvyozdochka Ship Repair Center told TASS on Monday that the repairs aboard Russia’s sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov continued despite the fire while wielding work would resume only after obtaining the Navy’s special permission.

The fire aboard the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov broke out during repair works in the morning of December 12 and was fully extinguished at about 08:00 a.m. Moscow time on December 13. The aircraft carrier is currently under repairs at the Ship Repair Plant in Murmansk.

According to the emergencies services, the fire could have started due to the violation of fire safety rules in the course of wielding works. The fire swept an area of 500 square meters. The blaze killed two and injured 14 others.

Aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov

The Project 11435 heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov is designed to gain superiority at sea and in the air in the areas of the fleet’s operation to ensure the navy’s combat sustainability, deliver air strikes against enemy targets and support troops’ landing operations.

The warship entered service in 1990. It displaces 58,000 tonnes and has a length of 304.5 meters. The aircraft carrier has a full speed capacity of 200,000 horsepower and develops a speed of up to 30 knots. Apart from the air task force of 24-26 fighter jets and 12 helicopters, the Admiral Kuznetsov is armed with anti-ship and air defense missile systems.

The warship is equipped with a ski-jump and two aircraft elevators. It has a crew of 1,300 while the air group’s personnel numbers 660 men.