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| Russian Navy admits causing Irish oil slick |
| 2009-02-28 |
| Oh, that oil slick... DUBLIN (AP) -- The Russian navy finally admitted Friday it caused an oil slick off Ireland's southwest coast -- 12 days after European and Irish marine authorities first spotted the threat and linked it to the Russians' breakdown-prone aircraft carrier. Ireland's government and coast guard also offered a much bigger estimate for the size of the slick than the Russians did -- ten times as big. But they agreed with a Russian navy statement that the slick was unlikely to pose a major risk to Ireland's coastal habitat, thanks chiefly to unusually mild seas that were keeping the slick offshore. In Moscow, Russian navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said unspecified ships spilled 20 to 30 metric tons of oil. It was Russia's first public admission of involvement, although Russian Navy officials admitted their role in a private meeting Monday in Dublin with Irish Coast Guard commanders. The Irish Coast Guard said Friday that the size of the remaining slick involved an estimated 300 tons of light crude. It said the mishap happened when Russia's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, was being refueled by an accompanying tanker. The Kuznetsov has been plagued with technical problems since entering full service in 1995, suffering lengthy dockings for repairs. Since leaving its Arctic base in Severomorsk in December, the carrier has been accompanied by a tanker and at least one tugboat in case of a breakdown. In January, while the carrier was operating off Turkey's coast, a fire on board the ship killed a crew member. Ireland estimates it has already spent more than euro250,000 ($325,000) monitoring the slick by helicopter and screening shellfish for pollution. Its transport department has asked the Russian Federation to reimburse Ireland for at least some of that expense. The Irish Coast Guard said the slick was moving slowly eastward about 45 miles (70 kilometers) south of the County Cork coastline, and was unlikely to reach shore before disintegrating, unless the wind strengthens and changes course unexpectedly. "(The slick) is continuing to weather and significantly disperse ... and has not significantly moved over the last number of days," it said. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #4 Having a carrier is not the same as operating a carrier. In 1957, the Russian Defence Minister, Marshal Zhukov, visited India. In Cochin, Rear Admiral RD Katari, the Fleet Commander, invited him to a banquet on board the flagship. In his memoirs, "A Sailor Remembers" he recalls: (Page 83). "From the moment Marshal Zhukov, stepped on board, he virtually impaled me against the centre-line capstan and demanded to know why we were acquiring an aircraft-carrier. Resisting the temptation to tell him that it was none of his business, I tried to explain to him the reasons which induced us to do so, but he could not, or would not, accept them. The discussion was obviously reaching a point of exasperation to both sides but the climax came when Zhukov made the provocative observation that we were buying the carrier at the behest of the British and to please them." |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-02-28 07:23 |
| #3 We need to rehab the Kitty Hawk and freaking give to the Indians for a dollar! At least the Kitty can go on deployment without an unending string of disasters and mishaps. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2009-02-28 02:17 |
| #2 And India is actually paying for a Russian AC Carrier? /s |
| Posted by: tipover 2009-02-28 01:07 |
| #1 Having a carrier is not the same as operating a carrier. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2009-02-28 00:57 |