Russia Minister Blames Negligence for Sub Sinking

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, September 01, 2003

Russia Minister Blames Negligence for Sub Sinking

Russia's defense minister on Sunday blamed a Russian habit of "relying on mere chance" for the sinking of a nuclear-powered submarine and the deaths of nine of its crew.

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Russia's defense minister on Sunday blamed a Russian habit of "relying on mere chance" for the sinking of a nuclear-powered submarine and the deaths of nine of its crew.

The K-159, a former attack submarine decommissioned in 1989, sank in the stormy Barents Sea in the early hours of Saturday as it was being towed to a scrap yard.

The incident evoked painful memories of the Kursk submarine tragedy in the same seas three years ago this month and has left Russia facing another costly retrieval operation. It drew scathing from minister Sergei Ivanov.

"Once again we've seen the recurrence of an old Russian habit of relying on mere chance and hoping that everything will work out fine anyway," an uncomfortable-looking Ivanov told reporters on board a missile cruiser observing search operations.

Moving to limit political damage from the sinking, Ivanov announced he would temporarily ban transferring decommissioned nuclear submarines to scrap yards, Interfax news agency said.

Speaking ahead of President Vladimir Putin's imminent return home from a visit to Sardinia, Ivanov also said radiation levels were normal in the Barents Sea after the accident.

Ivanov's words seemed like a judgment as a whole on the state of Russia's once-mighty military in the post-Soviet period and echoed angry comments he made on a mid-air collision of two military helicopters in Russia's Far East on August 26.

That incident, in which six airmen died, he blamed on "negligence, showing-off and air hooliganism."

Speaking Sunday, Ivanov said: "This confirms yet again the simple truth that all instructions and orders must be taken seriously. Otherwise sooner or later tragedies involving the deaths of innocent people will occur."

Source: Agencies

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