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A mission to raise Russia’s ill-fated Kursk nuclear submarine from the bottom
of the Barents Sea began this week. After divers have examined the submarine,
Dutch salvage experts plan to remove the Kursk’s damaged bow by sawing through
the hull. Holes will then be drilled into the vessel so that it can be lifted
close to the surface and towed to Murmansk beneath a 140-metre barge. The
operation will cost Russia an estimated £60 million. The Kursk sank in
August last year killing all 118 crew. The cause of the accident remains
unclear.