Russia to scrap 17 nuclear subs
A top atomic official today said Russia would scrap 17 nuclear submarines this year, Russian news agencies reported.
Sergei Antipov, deputy head of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, was quoted by Interfax and ITAR-Tass as saying that 17 submarines would be decommissioned this year, while 19 were scrapped last year.
Antipov also criticised foreign donors for failing to provide promised financing to decommission nuclear vessels.
Russia’s once-formidable surface and underwater navy has fallen on hard times since the Soviet collapse.
Nuclear submarines and other atomic-powered vessels have been known to sit for years, rusting in their berths and raising fears of contamination or theft of nuclear materials.
In recent years, the United States, Norway, Canada and other Western countries have helped fund efforts to dismantle the submarines and secure the nuclear materials.
