When last we checked in with The Barents Observer, October 20:
"Zig-zag pattern. Reduced speed. A Russian nuclear-powered cargo ship steaming outside Africa towards Antarctic attracts attention"I admit it, I am obsessed with this weird-a** ship....
Well four weeks later we are far beyond obsession. I am becoming convinced Putin is deliberately messing with me.
From The Barents Observer, November 13:
Something bad happened with the power transfer, marine shaft or propellers on the 260 meters long ship sailing south in the Atlantic in mid-October.
Speed was reduced on October 16 or 17. Sailing zig-zag for a day, then turned north like she was heading home, before a day later again sailing south at a reduced speed of 6-7 knots. The voyage continued along the coast of Africa, but for the last two weeks, “Sevmorput” has stayed just outside the Angolan port of Luanda. All time sailing zig-zag at the same reduced speed.
Rosatomflot has been unforthcoming about the situation and not replied to any of the questions from The Barents Observer.
A discussion group on the social media channel Vkontakte, though, provides some insight to the critical situation happening with the world’s only civilian nuclear-powered cargoship off the Angolan coast. An employee with the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg writes “there is a breakdown on the ship, as I understand it, and divers are trying to fix.” It is not clear what exactly is the trouble, but he writes something is badly wrong with the shaft, propellers or associated gear.
Ship tracking site MarineTraffic.com labels the ship’s status with “Restricted Maneuverability”.
Something bad happened with the power transfer, marine shaft or propellers on the 260 meters long ship sailing south in the Atlantic in mid-October.
Speed was reduced on October 16 or 17. Sailing zig-zag for a day, then turned north like she was heading home, before a day later again sailing south at a reduced speed of 6-7 knots. The voyage continued along the coast of Africa, but for the last two weeks, “Sevmorput” has stayed just outside the Angolan port of Luanda. All time sailing zig-zag at the same reduced speed.
Rosatomflot has been unforthcoming about the situation and not replied to any of the questions from The Barents Observer.
A discussion group on the social media channel Vkontakte, though, provides some insight to the critical situation happening with the world’s only civilian nuclear-powered cargoship off the Angolan coast. An employee with the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg writes “there is a breakdown on the ship, as I understand it, and divers are trying to fix.” It is not clear what exactly is the trouble, but he writes something is badly wrong with the shaft, propellers or associated gear.
Ship tracking site MarineTraffic.com labels the ship’s status with “Restricted Maneuverability”.
It is also unclear why the huge vessel has been sailing zig-zag for two weeks instead of staying at anchor. It is also unclear if the reactor is shut down or power runs on the diesel engine.
Last winter, “Sevmorput” was docked at the Kanonerskiy yard in St. Petersburg for shifting propeller shafts. Such job was traditionally done at shipyard No. 82 in Roslyakovo, just a few kilometers north of the home base for the fleet of civilian nuclear-powered icebreakers in Murmansk. The yard’s floating dock (SD-50) was the only in the Russian north large enough to hold the huge containership. That dock, however, sank to the seafloor in October 2018....
