Russia ships nuclear subs across Arctic for repair
First time in history: Two Pacific fleet Akula-class submarines are now en route along the Northern Sea Route towards Severodvinsk in the White Sea for upgrades.
The nuclear submarines “Bratsk” and “Samara” will cross the Arctic onboard the Dutch heavy lift vessel Transshelf sailing from the naval base in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky this week, reports the tweet @russiannavyblog. Quoting the press-service of Zvezdochka yard, Itar-Tass confirms that Severodvinsk is the destination.
The transfer is the first in Post-Soviet times when nuclear powered submarines from the Pacific fleet are transported to a naval yard in the Barents Region for upgrade.
Both “Bratsk” and “Samara” are built in Russia’s Far East, at the yard in Komsomolsk-na-Amur in the late 1980ties and early 1990ties.
Russian naval blog says the approved window for the Northern Sea Route transit is August 25 to September 15.
