Stray fire Causes $1.52 billion Worth Damage to Russian Aircraft Carrier

The damage caused by the fire on the Russian aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” is effectively equivalent to the current value of the ship, at 95 billion rubles (around $1.52 billion), Russian newspaper Kommersant reported.

It must be emphasized that there is no official information as yet on the scale of the damage or the cost of reapirs from Russian shipyard or the Navy.

“The damage caused by the fire that broke out has been provisionally estimated at 95 billion rubles. However, it’s not just a case of damage to the structures of the aircraft carrier, there is also repair equipment that was affected, and military and civilian specialists who are out of service due to injuries,” Kommersant said quoting a source from R’s source from Russia’s Northern Fleet.

The current value of a ship of its class with such a long service life, factoring in the wear on the hull but excluding weapons, is 110 billion rubles (around $1.76 billion). “The announced figure greatly outraged the naval command,” the source was quoted as saing.

According to him, it is not yet clear what will be done with the aircraft carrier. “Most likely, the Kuznetsov will still be restored, but more due to its legendariness than to its combat capability,” the source emphasized.

Kommersant reported previously that the fire on the aircraft carrier was caused by welding slag coming into contact with an oily rag discarded in the hold, from which the fire spread to power cables. As a result of the fire, one person was killed and 12 were injured, one severely and 11 moderately. The fate of one crew member remains unknown.

However, TASS reported on December 17 quoting shipbuilding industry sources said that the fire inflicted minor damage to the warship and is unlikely to affect its repairs schedule. "The accommodation cabins with garbage burnt out and that is why the fire will certainly not affect the timeframe of the aircraft carrier’s repairs," one source said.