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Wreck Rules

Russia

 

At 8.28am on 12th August 2000 the Russian navy were conducting military maneuvers in the Barents Sea by the Norway/Russia border. The Kursk was the flagship of the nuclear submarine fleet and was just below water when an  explosion occurred. Seismic equipment in Norway picked up the vibration. The second explosion occurred when it hit the seabed with the force of 2 tons of TNT. It registered 3.47 on the Richter Scale.

The Kursk sank to the seabed six miles out and  108metres/350 feet down in less than two minutes with the loss of all 118 crew.

In January 2001 the Russian government asked foreign governments for financial assistance to raise the sub in the summer. In July 2001divers began the long process of recovery. They are just as concerned at the loss of life as the nuclear reactor, 24 cruise missiles and an unknown number of torpedoes.