03.02.2009
Those in Ukraine who want a buildup of the country’s navy seem devoted to bringing back to life the Zaporozhe, an old Soviet submarine. In a sign that people are nostalgic of the past glory of the Soviet Navy, a ceremony to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the raising of the flag of the Soviet Navy on the Zaporozhe took place in Sebastopol, the Flot Ukrainy, a publication of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, reported. In the same spirit, the Ukrainian flag was also raised on the Zaporozhe, which has been in the dry docks at the Zaporozhe shipbuilding factory for years.
The ceremony was attended not only by members of the Ukrainian Navy and Sebastopol local authorities, but also by political bigwigs from the city of Zaporozhe, who have taken to espousing the cause of the long-suffering submarine since 2003, the publication reported.
Sea trials of the submarine will take place in May-September at last, the captain of the
Zaporozhe, Captain First Class Oleg Orlov, told a gathering after the ceremony.
The only submarine in the Ukrainian Navy, a B-641-class submarine, was build at the
Novoadmiralteisky shipbuilding factory in Leningrad approximately 40 years ago and included in the Soviet Navy on January 20, 1971, the
Novy Region publication reported.
The
Zaporozhe was transferred to its first Ukrainian captain, Captain 3d Class Ivan Dzhemel, in a “state of technical disrepair in 1997.” Lack of funding led to further deterioration of the ship, as it was put on dry docks at the
Metallist shipbuilding factory in Sebastopol.
After leaving the
Metallist factory, the ship was taken to the repair shop of the Russian Black Sea Fleet for electric and diesel work.
“All the repair work, which has so far cost 10.5 billion hryvni, have been paid for by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry,” the
Flot Ukrainy reported. But, “Nonetheless, 2008 also witnessed sporadic funding, while there was none what so ever in 2007,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry told the publication.
Source:
Translation:
RusNavy.com
