27 December 2002 11:04
Ukraine to repair its only sub by mid-2003
[Presenter] Ukraine's only submarine, the Zaporizhzhya, will be seaworthy in the first half of 2003. Greece says
that it has manufactured batteries for the submarine. They are the most important and expensive part of the submarine
repairs. The Greek-made accumulators cost about 5m dollars but they have twice the capacity of Ukrainian-made ones.
Ukraine inherited the Zaporizhzhya after the [Soviet] Black Sea Fleet was divided [between Russia and Ukraine],
changing its name from the B-435 to Zaporizhzhya.
The Russians offered us two more submarines, but had to scrap them after Ukraine rejected the offer because of the
submarines' poor condition.
[Correspondent] The Zaporizhzhya is a veteran submarine. In Soviet times, it spent over 20 years in service carrying
more than 30 mines or 20 torpedoes, some with nuclear warheads.
The submarine was inoperative when Ukraine received it. The worst fault was its completely worn-out batteries. Greece
won a tender to make them. A cargo ship will depart for Greece in about two weeks to bring the accumulators to Ukraine.
Specialists have completely upgraded and adapted the connecting system to fit Greek-made batteries.
[Oleh Orlov, captioned as commander of the Zaporizhzhya, in Russian] All repairs are scheduled to be completed by the
fist half of 2003. The submarine's first voyage will be a sea trial of its systems and mechanisms.
[Correspondent] All of the Zaporizhzhya's hull has been repaired. The Mariupol steel works produced about 500t
of high-quality steel for this purpose. Hydraulics, communications equipment and electrical circuits are being repaired
now.
Experts say that regulations on the technical condition of submarines have been tightened drastically since the
[Russian submarine] Kursk sank [in August 2000].
Most of the Zaporizhzhya's personnel, about 70 people, are involved in the repairs. It will take another 2m
dollars to complete them, but experts say this is not much because the future of the whole of Ukraine's submarine
fleet is in question.
[Orlov] It is important not only in a military sense, but also politically. It is important for the state's
prestige. We should also remember that a fleet consisting of even one submarine makes the enemy spend lots of money on
creating a whole set of anti-submarine facilities.
[Passage omitted: correspondent says the submarine is rather old]
[Counter reading: 2144-2355. Video shows the submarine being repaired in docks, exterior and interior]
[One Plus One TV] |
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