Fire breaks out again at Russia's only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov
A fire broke out on the Russian only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which is now under repair in a dry dock in Murmansk, reported the newspaper Severpost, citing a source in the emergency services.
This is a second-degree fire, which means that the situation is becoming critical and requires not only additional personnel, but also a supply of water and equipment.
Russian media reports that the fire took place in the cabins on the port side. 20 people were quickly evacuated from the cruiser. There were no casualties. According to the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov, reports of an emergency on the cruiser are greatly exaggerated.
"There was no fire, there was a local burning, which was extinguished by the personnel and representatives of the fire services who are in the territory of the plant. The survivability system was activated quickly, there is no damage and harm, " he told the Russian news agency TASS.
Admiral Kuznetsov has been under repairs since 2017. The work was to be completed in 2021. On the night of October 30, 2018, when the cruiser was removed from the floating dock, one of the cranes fell on its deck leaving a hole of 4 x 5 meters. The floating dock sank.
In December 2019, a fire broke out on the ship. Two people died and more than ten were injured. Then the fire began on the lower deck of the ship, when a welding spark fell into the hold with spilled fuel.
In the summer of 2022, Rakhmanov promised that the ship would return to the fleet in the first quarter of 2024.
In 2020, the publication The National Interest reported that the Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" leads the top 5 worst aircraft carriers in world history. According to The National Interest, the aircraft carrier, laid down in 1983 in the USSR and put into operation in 1995, was already back in the repair dock in 1996 after the accident. The aircraft carrier was under repair until 1998. After that it "periodically went to the Mediterranean Sea."
In November 2016 Admiral Kuznetsov took part in the first combat operation in Syria. During the operation, the aircraft carrier lost two aircraft, a MiG-29K and a Su-33.
The National Interest believes that the reason for the failures of the Admiral Kuznetsov are a low level of shipbuilding and poor logistical support. According to experts, Russia, due to financial problems, is not able to bring its only aircraft carrier into proper operational condition.