Nuclear sub St. Nicholas to be delayed after all?
The start of construction of Russia’s fourth Borei-class nuclear-powered submarine has been postponed from December to the first quarter of next year, a defense Ministry official said on Tuesday.
The official, who requested anonymity, told RIA Novosti that the project was not being “frozen” but simply delayed for “organizational and technical reasons.”
Yesterday BarentsObserver reported that another high ranking military representative had told the same news agency that there were no changes in the schedule for the construction of submarines of this class, in spite of the recent problems with test-launching of the Bulava missile.
Construction of the Project 955 Svyatitel Nikolai (St. Nicholas) ballistic-missile submarine is planned to begin on December 22 at the Sevmash shipyard in the northern Russian city of Severodvinsk. The keel-laying ceremony was timed to coincide with the shipyard’s 70th anniversary, as BarentsObserver reported.
