SSN Nerpa will pass supplemental check in Feb - MoD

13.01.2010 Source: RIA Novosti

Nuclear-powered attack submarine Nerpa commissioned late 2009 after state trials will pass supplemental check in Feb 2010, informs RIA Novosti referring to representative of Russian Ministry of Defense Press Service.

"In Feb 2010 it is planned to carry out supplemental check of SSN Nerpa to eliminate defects revealed by Navy experts during state trials", said the representative of MoD.

Defense ministry has not commented the issue of leasing SSN Nerpa to Indian Navy.

On Nov 8, 2008 during first sea trials of Nerpa built at Amur Shipyard in Komsomolsk, as a consequence of inadvertent operation of firefighting system LOH (submarine, volumetric, chemical) freon gas started to enter compartments. 20 people died and 21 were intoxicated out of 208 attendants, mostly specialists of the shipyard and experts from Moscow and St. Petersburg. After repair, the sub has successfully passed all required phases of builder's and state trials, said representative of Pacific Fleet HQ to RIA Novosti.

Experts inspected all systems of the sub after the accident but have not found any serious damages. Nevertheless, all sections of compartment which had been polluted by gas needed to be washed off; freon was replaced. The shipyard does not possess results of investigation carried out by special board since they are classified. In total, Amur Shipyard expended 1.9 bln rub on the sub's recovery.

The submarine is expected to be leased to India for 10 years. According to Russian media, the contract value is $650 mln.

SSN Nerpa is a third-generation submarine. Its displacement is 8,140/12,770 tonnes; maximum speed is 30 knots; test depth is 600 meters; endurance is 100 days; crew is 73; armament contains four 533-mm torpedo tubes and four 650-mm torpedo tubes. However, torpedoes of this caliber were removed from operational status after accident happened to SSN Kursk in 2000.