Russian Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov Starts to Leave Drydock, local sources claim a minor fire onboard

TASS News Agency

The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier of project 1143.5 began to leave the dry dock after an overhaul and the operation will take one month, two defense industry sources told TASS.

“The operation to leave the dry dock of the 35th Shipyard began on December 20. It will take approximately one month.”

A source of TASS

The 35th Shipyard refused to comment.

The overhaul is to be finally completed in 2024. The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier will get a totally new combat potential upon the upgrade. It will serve in the Navy for another 10-15 years.

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UPDATE (22 December 2022, GMT 09.03): According to local sources on social media, a fire broke out aboard the Kuznetsov. The sources claim that the fire spread to a 6-meter area on the open deck. They also stated that the crew immediately reacted to the fire and extinguished it. The crew is currently checking the other compartments to ensure safety.

Supposedly a minor fire broke out on Kuznetsov in Murmansk. Just rumours at the moment, so take it for what its worth. The carrier is currently scheduled to be launched from her improvised drydock, an operation the yard says will take one month (!). https://t.co/mSy5Vah4PA

— Alex Luck (@AlexLuck9) December 22, 2022

Naval News comments:

Admiral Kuznetsov began the overhaul in 2017 after operating on the Syrian coast. In October 2018, it was leaving the floating PD-50 dock of the 82nd shipyard in Roslyakovo when the dock began to sink. A crane fell on the deck because of the list. On December 12, 2019, a fire broke out on the carrier. Kuznetsov is currently in the 35th shipyard in Murmansk.

Repairs are expected to cost 300 to 350 million rubles. Some of the systems aboard the vessel will be upgraded, such as the CIWS.