MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2022) The only aircraft carrier in the Russian Navy, Admiral Kuznetsov, has docked at the 35th plant in Severomorsk for repairs and modernization, United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) CEO Alexei Rakhmanov told Sputnik.
"The docking operation for the Kuznetsov has been successfully completed," Rakhmanov said.
According to him, this operation was planned to be carried out on May 14-15.
"However, a strong wind sped up to 17 meters per second, so we decided to postpone the operation until more favorable weather," the USC head explained.
Earlier, Rakhmanov told the agency that when signing the contract for the repair and modernization of the cruiser and determining the required scope of work, it was assumed that only one gas turbine unit out of four was to be unloaded and repaired. Then it was found that all four units needed repairs, a total of 10-11 months of work. However, in this case, if other defects are not revealed, the ship will be handed over to the fleet in 2023, as planned.
In October 2018, when Admiral Kuznetsov was floated, an accident occurred:floating dock PD-50, in which the ship was located, abruptly went under water, as a result of which a crane fell on the aircraft carrier and damaged part of its deck.
Admiral Kuznetsov was then transferred to the 35th shipyard, where a fire broke out on board when a spark from welding hit the hold room with spilled fuel. As a result, two people were killed and more than a dozen were injured.
In addition, USC had to terminate a contract with a company that was building a new dry dock at a Murmansk plant. Work proceeded ten times slower than agreed in the contract. In addition, the contractor was unable to report on the advance payment of 2.6 billion rubles.
