By Giwa SHILE
Russia’s sole Aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, damaged in a floating dock accident in October, will be upgraded in time, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Monday.
“This problem will not affect the timing, because, under a contract, the upgrading work in a dock is planned for next summer or the spring of 2020,’’ Manturov was quoted by TASS news agency as saying.
He said the place, where the upgrading of the ship will be completed, is currently under determination.
The modernisation of Admiral Kuznetsov began in October 2017 at a plant in Russia’s Northwestern port city of Murmansk.
The work is scheduled to be completed in 2020 and the vessel is expected to return to service in 2021.
But the PD-50 floating dock, one of the largest in the world, sank on the night of Oct. 30, during the planned release of the Admiral Kuznetsov from it.
A falling crane damaged the ship’s take-off deck.
Four people were injured in the accident, one of whom died later. Another worker is still missing.
Manturov said that options included building a dry dock structure at a nearby shipbuilding plant, acquiring a new finished dock, or using a dry dock at the Sevastopol plant in Crimea.
The 300-meter-long and 67-meter-wide PD-50 dock, built in Sweden in 1980, is to be recovered, Manturov said, without specifying the exact date.
