Bid to salvage lost sub. parts likely

Press, 11 April 1989, Page 8

Bid to salvage lost sub. parts likely

NZPA-Reuter Oslo The Soviet Union, worried that some of its most advanced military hardware might fall into Western hands, could try to recover parts of a unique submarine from the Arctic seabed, according to Western military analysts and intelligence sources.

Moscow said on Sunday that 42 sailors died when the nuclear-powered submarine, which was carrying nuclear torpedoes, sank in icy seas off northern Norway last Friday. Twenty-seven of the crew were saved, Tass news agency said. “There is good reason to believe that the vessel contains some of the most advanced technology that the Soviet Union possesses in this area,” said Willy

Oestreng, director of the Fridtjof Nansen research institute and an expert on submarines. The Mike class attack submarine, used to test advanced weapons systems, was the only one of its kind in the huge Soviet navy. Military analysts have said its loss may have been a major blow to Soviet hopes of keeping pace with N.A.T.O. in the field.

“You can take it for granted that they are interested in recovering parts of the boat,” Mr Oestreng said.

The vessel sank in about 1500 m of water after an on-board fire and explosion and the great pressure at those depths means that the hull has almost certainly shattered.

Tass, reporting no signs of a radioactivity leak in the area, said the submarine’s nuclear reactor was shut down before the vessel sank and the torpedoes were designed to withstand the intense pressure of immersion in deep water. Because of the depths involved, any salvage operation would have to use expensive remote-con-trolled equipment rather than divers. “We’re not sure how the Mike was being used when it went down but it is possible that they will try and get certain equipment or material back,” said one Western intelligence source. "It sank in international waters and that means they might be worried about our getting our hands on it.”