For the Sixth Time, Completion of Repairs to Russia’s Most Powerful Submarine Delayed, ‘Izvestiya’ Reports

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Nov. 15 – Vladimir Putin and following him the Russian and Western media regularly announce the launch of some new ship in the Russian navy and point to it as evidence of Moscow’s growing naval power. But none of these sources focus on another aspect of the situation: the lengthy periods such vessels are not in service because of refitting.
    The case of the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only aircraft carrier which now may end its life as a casino or artificial reef, is of course well known. But the problem is far larger than that: many ships in Russia’s navy are sidelined for refitting and repair for extensive periods, often far larger than originally announced.
    That makes an Izvestiya account of the sixth delay in the return to service from refitting and repair of the Admiral Nakhimov, Russia’s largest and most powerful nuclear submarine, both indicative and instructive (iz.ru/1790913/iuliia-gavrilova-maksim-manaev/dobavili-srok-vykhod-admirala-nakhimova-v-more-otlozhen).
    Again and again, Russian officials have announced that the submarine was about to return to service and even announced precise dates, the Moscow newspaper says. But every time, these dates passed and officials had to announce new dates, as well as new cost overruns on this project.  
    To be sure, naval vessels require repair and refitting and are offline significant portions of time in the best of circumstances. But any evaluation of Russian naval power must take into consideration that some of its most ballyhooed ships are not really in service for very long periods and the authorities have no confidence as to when they will in fact return to duty.