Pacific Fleet \'Tomsk\' nuclear sub catches fire at Zvezda shipyard

A fire broke out on Monday on a nuclear submarine of Russia’s Pacific Fleet named ‘Tomsk’ that is under repairs at the Zvezda shipyard in Bolshoi Kamen, Primorsky Krai. An informed source in the Pacific Fleet headquarters told Itar-Tass that smoke appeared between the pressure hull and outer hull of the submarine during welding operations. Fifteen crews of the Pacific Fleet and the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM) have been trying to put out the fire. The purging of the fire area has been carried out. “There is no radiation hazard. Weapons have been unloaded from the submarine. The situation is completely under control,” the source stated, adding that there was no threat to local population. He also denied reports alleging that it was the Irkutsk submarine that caught fire. “The Irkutsk submarine is currently on the Kamchatka Peninsula,” said the Russian Pacific Fleet representative. K-150 ‘Tomsk’ is a nuclear submarine of the ‘Antey’ class built under the 949A Project. The main armament of the cruiser includes twenty-four P-700 ‘Granit’ anti-ship cruise missiles.