Kursk hitches pose tough questions

Cruise missiles and nuclear reactors remain on board

Salvage teams at the site of the Kursk disaster were working for a second day on Monday to repair vital sawing equipment to get the operation back on track.

The hitches come amid fresh questions over the safety of the operation - and with speculation continuing that the operation is running out of time before the winter sets in.

The giant saw under repair is being used to cut away the submarine's badly-damaged bow section. The saw's cables or chains have broken several times during the operation.

Conditions on the seabed have been hazardous throughout

Sources in the Russian Northern Fleet headquarters have told the Itar-Tass news agency that the current breakdown is the most serious yet, and is proving difficult to repair.

But officials involved in the project have told BBC News Online that the current delay should not prove fatal.

"Overall the cutting is going very well," said John Large of the UK Nuclear Co-ordinating Group.

"But it gets more and more difficult the lower you get, as silt, boulders and other debris can get pulled into the machinery, so you can have problems.

The salvage operation is fraught with problems

"Providing there are no major new hitches, I think the operation can still succeed before winter."

Lifting could be attempted after 20 September, said Mr Large, once cables have been attached to the 26 holes already drilled into the submarine's hull.

But if fresh problems emerge, the project could face being hit by budget problems, other industry sources told BBC News Online.

As summer turns to autumn, the number of working days will be substantially reduced, leaving the vastly-expensive operation with zero productivity on stormy days.

"I don't want to scare anyone, but in such a worst-case situation we would get more than just a Chernobyl on the bottom of the Barents Sea, but something two or even three times worse

Russian expert Yury Senatsky

It could eventually mean a "commercial" decision to pull the teams out, the sources say.

A spokesman for the Meteorological Office in London said more windy and unsettled weather could be expected in the Barents Sea over the next 10 days.

Fresh questions over safety are also being raised.

Experts fear that moving the Kursk could either destabilise its two nuclear reactors, or even trigger explosions by some of the two-dozen cruise missiles on board.

One source said there were serious doubts over whether Russian contingency plans for a major nuclear emergency situation were fully in place, with only weeks to go.

In a nightmare scenario for the salvage teams:

• The cruise missiles could be triggered by movement or radio waves.
• The giant barge hauling the Kursk to the surface could itself be pulled under.
• The reactors could start leaking when moved, forcing the Kursk to be laid again on the sea bed.
• A Chernobyl-style concrete bunker could have to be built over the Kursk on the sea bed, or other material pumped into the reactors to stop the leaks.

Sources say the chances of such drastic outcomes are remote, but must be planned for in case the worst happens - and the Russians have yet to provide detailed emergency plans.

Some Russian experts have said the cruise missiles remain a particular cause for concern.

Retired Rear Admiral Yuri Senatsky, a former USSR rescue specialist, said the missiles were not equipped for storage under water.

"In the worst-case scenario - that is, if the 'dry-storage' missiles are now full of sea water - then in what condition are their detonators one year after the fact?" he said in a recent interview with the Russian newspaper, Tribuna.

'Torn to shreds'

"It is not out of the question that they have corroded to the point that they could go off by themselves from the slightest shock. If the missiles begin to explode one right after another under water, the reactor will be torn to shreds, and no pressure hull will help.

"I don't want to scare anyone, but in such a worst-case situation we would get more than just a Chernobyl on the bottom of the Barents Sea, but something two or even three times worse."

President Putin has continued to insist that operation will succeed before winter.

In another sign of progress, the Giant 4 barge which will be used in the lifting has arrived in the Norwegian port of Kirkenes on its way to the Kursk site.