Ocean liner SS America isn’t the only vessel to have run aground and sunk in 1994 while under tow to Asia. But unlike the grand US passenger ship, which was abandoned where it foundered, battle cruiser Murmansk would eventually be salvaged for scrap.
(Image: Carsten Aniksdal (website: carstenaniksdal.com), reproduced with permission)
The Russian battleship sank on Christmas Eve that year off the coast of Finnmark in northeastern Norway. Murmansk, which was built in 1955, had been bound for the breakers yards of India when its towlines severed and it landed on the rocks.
(Image: via umbry101, reproduced with permission)
The wreck’s rusting superstructure and formidable gun turrets soon became a popular sight near the small village of Sørvær.
(Image: via umbry101, reproduced with permission)
But by 2009 the Norwegian government decided to salvage the ship, though removing it from the rugged coastline would present significant engineering challenges.
(Image: via umbry101, reproduced with permission)
Barents Observer reported that the poor condition of the wreck, after almost 20 years of elemental forces tearing its hull apart, meant that it couldn’t be refloated.
(Image: Norwegian Coastal Administration via Barents Observer)
Thus contractors would focus their efforts on demolishing the 210 metre long, 13,600 ton Murmansk, piece by piece, from the outside.
To get the job done, Scandinavia’s largest demolition contractor AF Decom constructed a massive breakwater and dry dock around Murmansk in a bid to access the shipwreck from land and demolish it where it rested.
(Image: via umbry101, reproduced with permission)
Once the dock was in place, water was pumped out from around the forlorn battle cruiser. AF Decom’s strategy then called for heavy machinary to break the wreck down, shipping its hazardous materials to waste and recycling facilities.
(Image: Norwegian Coastal Administration via Barents Observer)
The dry dock and water removal were complete by May 2012. Demolition was poised to begin following further preparatory works and studies of the wrecked battleship.
(Image: via umbry101, reproduced with permission)
Despite environmental concerns over the possible presence of radioactive substances including Polonium-210, the salvage work was due to be completed in 2013.
Keep reading – Ship Graveyards: Abandoned Ships, Boats & Shipyards
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