The only courier in Russia, damaged by accidents at the shipyard, now on fire

Enlarge / MURMANSK, RUSSIA – DECEMBER 12, 2019: A fire broke out aboard the Project 11435 aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov of the Russian northern fleet. Admiral Kuznetsov is the only aircraft carrier of the Russian navy. Lev Fedoseyev / TASS

TASS / Lev Fedosev

Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only aircraft carrier, caught fire today during repairs in Murmansk. While shipyard officials said no shipyard employees were injured, the Russian news service TASS reports that at least 12 people (probably Kuznetsov sailors) were injured, some critical. In addition, three people, possibly including the third grade captain responsible for the ship’s repairs, are not responsible.

The Kuznetsov had a long series of bad luck, encountered a fire at sea, oil spills, and landing decoys – including a broken arrest wire that caused a Sukhoi Su-33 hunter to roll the end of the deck into the ocean. The boilers emitted black smoke during the ship’s transit to Syria in 2016, and it had to be towed back home after being demolished during its return in 2017. Then last year, while it was doing repairs in a floating dry dock at the shipyard 82 from Murmansk, the dry dock sank and a crane hit the dry dock in the Kuznetsov and left a cut in the ship’s hull. It seemed that the completion of repairs could be postponed indefinitely because dry dock repairs would take more than a year, and the budget for repairs had been reduced.

The fire was caused when sparks from welding work in the vicinity of one of the ship’s electrical distribution compartments set fire to a cable. The fire spread through the wiring in compartments of the lower deck of the ship, eventually involving 120 square meters (1,300 square feet) of the ship’s spaces.

A total of 12 victims were delivered to hospitals, 10 of them were rescued during the fire. One is assessed as serious and one has suffered a head injury. Most received poisoning from combustion products, according to a TASS report.

Fire fighting on board, even in the port, is a grim and hellish undertaking. Lack of ventilation, darkness and the toxic smoke released by burning electrical wiring, oil, paint and equipment, makes putting out fires on board a ship particularly difficult, and requires frequent relief from those fighting the fires due to stress and limitations on breathing apparatus. Those who have served in a floating navy can witness how frightening even the thought of a massive sea of ​​fire aboard a ship, even when it is on the pier.