News of Norway, issue 4, 2000
Russia called for Norwegian assistance when two explosions tore through the hull of its Oscar II-class submarine during naval exercises on August 12, 2000, trapping crew members inside. Unfortunately, after undertaking a rescue mission, the 12 Norwegian deep-sea divers found the nuclear submarine flooded and concluded that all passengers were dead. Later, at a brief meeting during September’s UN Millennium Summit, Putin again expressed his appreciation and said he wanted to sign a long-term agreement with Norway to cooperating on rescue operations in the Barents Sea.
Stoltenberg said Russia and Norway will mount new cooperative efforts on nuclear safety and preparedness. He said the sinking of the Kursk nuclear sub was a terrible tragedy, but one that may bring the two nations closer together.
Norway to boost Barents monitoring
Norway has long feared radioactive pollution from its eastern neighbor. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union used the twin Arctic islands of Novaya Zemlya as a nuclear-testing ground, and the Russian Northern Fleet is based in Murmansk, close to Norwegian territory.
Norwegian environmental officials say they will boost pollution controls in the Barents Sea after the recent nuclear submarine accident. Norway wants Russia to help improve environmental control routines.
Norwegian authorities will ask their Russian counterparts for closer cooperation on monitoring environmental pollution in the Barents. Norway will intensify its water and air quality monitoring near the site where the submarine sank as well as in a wider area where nuclear movements and drills are common.
No sign of radiation
There have not yet been any signs of radiation from the sunken sub, but the Norwegian Environmental Protection Minister Siri Bjerke said she doesn't want to take any chances. She vowed that scientists will continually monitor the water and air from near the crash site.
"We rely on getting full information from Russia as to the nature of the submarine's damage in order to know what we need to do in relation to the environment," she said. "This is not something we can take for granted."
Russian authorities have maintained that both nuclear reactors on board the Kursk submarine were automatically shut down and that there was no "immediate" threat of radiation.