A Russian warship under construction at a shipyard in St. Petersburg caught fire Friday, leaving at least three workers injured.
The press service of the United Shipbuilding Corporation reported that a corvette of project 20385 caught fire at the plant. A source in the shipbuilding industry told TASS that a fire broke out on a corvette of project 20385, “Provorny”.
The Provorny (Agile) corvette being built at the Severnaya Verf (Northern Shipyard) was completely engulfed by flames, and nearly 170 firefighters were taking part in efforts to extinguish the blaze that sent massive plumes of smoke over Russia’s second-largest city.
At first, it was reported that the fire covered the upper deck; the area of the fire is about 100 square meters. Subsequently, the flame spread over 800 square meters – almost the entire ship. The fire is extinguished by about 170 people and 40 pieces of equipment.
This is not the ship’s crew since the Agile has not yet been handed over to the fleet. The transfer was scheduled for 2022. It was assumed that the warship would be based in Kamchatka.
Construction on Provorny (Agile), the second ship in the class, was started in April 2013. The vessel is intended for the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet.
Local authorities said three workers were injured, with two of them requiring hospitalization.
A Russian warship under construction at a shipyard in St. Petersburg caught fire Friday, leaving at least three workers injured, reported Associated Press.
An official panel has been created to investigate the cause of the fire; the preliminary investigation shows that the warship was under construction for eight years. Lack of funds and marine propulsion lead to delays in building new warships in Russia. Russia has been seeking assistance from Turkey and France to upgrade its shipyard to build a next-generation warship.
The corvette is the latest in a series of such ships built at the shipyard. It was set to be commissioned by the Navy late next year.
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