Russia to lease nuclear submarine to India for a decade this year.

12/1 Tass 160

MOSCOW, January 12 (Itar-Tass) - Russia to lease a multifunctional
nuclear submarine, Nerpa, to India for a decade in the latter half of this
year, Itar-Tass learnt on Tuesday at the Russian Defence Ministry.
"The Nerpa nuclear submarine which was included in the Russian navy
after successful tests last December, will be transferred to India for a
ten-year lease in the summer-autumn of this year," the ministry specified.
"Under agreement with the Indian side, representatives of the Indian
naval command and an Indian crew trained to operate the submarine, will
come to the Nerpa's base near Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. The
crew will hold the Nerpa's tests, during which onboard weapons will be
possibly tested as well," a source noted.
"Then, the Indian side will sign the submarine's act of acceptance."
"Following the signing of the document, the Nerpa with the Indian crew
will head for India," the Russian Defence Ministry noted.
Director of the Federal Service of Military and Technical Cooperation
Mikhail Dmitriev told Itar-Tass back on December 15, 2008 of a
possibility of leasing a nuclear submarine of project 971 Shchuka-B to
India for ten years.
"Indeed, there is a probability of leasing to India for a decade
several our submarines with a nuclear reactor of the same class and
project as the Nerpa, aboard which an incident took place in the Sea of
Japan in November 2008. This probability may be realised over the next few
years," he said at the time.
"The contract provides not for selling the submarines to India, but
for leasing them to operate as part of the Indian navy," the director
specified.
The Nerpa nuclear submarine (Shark-2 according to NATO classification)
is a sub of the third generation. The submarine's displacement is
8,140/12,770 tonnes, maximum speed - 30 knots, bottom low submersion depth
- 600 metres, independent voyage - 100 days and weapons - four torpedo
systems of calibre 533mm and four torpedo systems of calibre 650mm.
On November 8, 2008, an accidental switch-on of the fire-fighting
system took place at the Nerpa submarine which was built by the Amursky
shipyards and which was not yet accepted by the Russian navy, during
shipyard trial runs in the Sea of Japan; and freon gushed into submarine
sections. As a result, 20 people died and another 21 were hospitalised.
All in all, there were 208 people aboard the submarine at the time.
Following the restoration work and a change of the fire-fighting
system and some other equipment, the Nerpa passed successfully several
rounds of testing and was handed over to the Russian navy on last December
28.
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