Russia reveals submarine hit by fire was nuclear-powered

Russian navy ships and a submarine take part in a naval parade at the Russian port of Severomorsk on July 31, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

MOSCOW (REUTERS) - Russian President Vladimir Putin disclosed on Thursday (July 4) for the first time that a top-secret military submarine hit by a fatal fire three days ago was nuclear-powered, prompting Russia's defence minister to assure him that its nuclear reactor had been contained.

Russian officials have faced accusations of trying to cover up the full details of the accident that killed 14 sailors as they were carrying out what the defence ministry called a survey of the sea floor near the Arctic.

The Ministry of Defence said the incident took place on Monday, but it was not officially disclosed until late on Tuesday, and there was no indication until Thursday whether the vessel had a nuclear reactor on board despite intense interest in that question from the authorities in neighbouring Norway.

Mr Putin, in a Kremlin meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, disclosed the fact that the submarine had been nuclear-powered for the first time by asking Mr Shoigu about its condition after the deadly fire.

"The nuclear reactor on the vessel is completely isolated and unmanned. All the necessary measures were taken by the crew to protect the reactor which is in complete working order," Mr Shoigu told Mr Putin, according to a Kremlin transcript.

The fire had erupted in the submarine's battery compartment, Shoigu added, and later spread.

Although the Kremlin publicised the Putin-Shoigu meeting on Thursday morning, it was not immediately clear when the two men had met.

"There has not been any formal communication from Russia to us about this," Per Strand, a director at the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, told Reuters when asked if it had been informed that the submarine was nuclear-powered.

"We understand that they brought the situation under control quickly, under difficult conditions, and there was, as such, no nuclear incident that they were obligated to tell us about," he added.

"Still, we would have been happy to have been informed of such incidents."

TOP-SECRET SUBMARINE

Shoigu, a close Putin ally, told the Russian leader that the secretive submarine, which authorities said had been operating in the Barents Sea area, could and would be fully repaired.

"In our case, this is not just possible but obligatory," Shoigu said of the submarine's repair. "Right now, we are assessing how long it will take, how much work there is, and how we can carry it out."

A photograph of the deceased sailors circulated on social media on Wednesday. Its authenticity could not be immediately confirmed by Reuters, but it appeared to have been hung on the wall of a Russian military facility.

A tribute to the men accompanying the photograph called them heroes and said they had served on board a nuclear-powered deep-sea submersible known by the designation AS-31.

Russian media have previously reported, without official confirmation, that the vessel is designed to carry out special operations at depths where regular submarines cannot operate.

Made out of a series of inter-connected spheres, which are stronger than the conventional submarine construction and allow it to resist water pressure at great depths, Western military experts have suggested it is capable of probing and possibly even severing undersea communications cables.

Shoigu told Putin that the families of the dead sailors would be fully provided for, while the Russian leader, the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, ordered him to draw up proposals to posthumously grant those who were killed state awards.

An official investigation into the accident, likely to be shrouded in secrecy, is already underway.

The Kommersant daily, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, has reported that it looks like the deadly fire was started by a powerful electrical short circuit.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.