Military

DATE=07/17/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=KURSK RECOVERY (L)

NUMBER=2-278326

BYLINE=LARRY JAMES

DATELINE=MOSCOW

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: An operation to recover the sunken Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk has begun in the Barents Sea. As Larry James reports from Moscow, the operation is expected to take two-months.

TEXT: Underwater robots have begun clearing debris away from the wreck of the Kursk in preparation for a full-scale operation to recover the sunken ship. For the moment, there are no immediate plans for divers to descend to the wreck site. Officials say it is more efficient and less dangerous for the robotic equipment to clear away the debris that has accumulated around the Kursk since recovery operations were halted late last year.

The chief vessel carrying out the recovery is the Norwegian ship Mayo, which arrived Sunday at the site off Russia's Kola Peninsula.

Monday, an underwater robot was sent down to the ship to test radiation levels, which were found to be normal.

When the site has been cleared of debris, a team of Russian and Norwegian divers will begin work. Their first order of business will be to dismantle the vessel by cutting off the heavily damaged bow section where the submarine's torpedoes were stored.

Russian officials say the disaster was most likely triggered by an unexplained torpedo explosion, which then led to the detonation of the rest of the weapons on board. The Russian Navy says the Kursk was not armed with nuclear weapons and that the nuclear reactors had been shut down to avoid the risks of radiation leaks.

There is a difference of opinion as to whether the vessel should be raised from its resting place 100-meters below the surface. Environmentalists have argued that the risk of a radiation leak from the nuclear reactors is unacceptably high. They say it should be encased in concrete and left on the bottom.

Even some family members of the 118-men who perished on the Kursk do not want the vessel raised. They say the ocean floor is the most appropriate final resting-place for their loved ones.

But Russian president Vladimir Putin, who was heavily criticized for not cutting short his vacation after the sinking last August 12th, has promised the Kursk will be raised no matter what the cost. Twelve bodies were recovered last autumn before the onset of winter called a halt to operations. (SIGNED)

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