Kursk section found empty of ammunition

Support ships are anchored near the accident site

MURMANSK, Russia -- Engineers have found no unexploded ammunition in the first compartment of the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk, the Russian Navy says.

It was feared that the damaged first compartment of the nuclear submarine, which sank last year, could contain unexploded torpedoes.

However, cameras examining the compartment showed none, Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told the ITAR-Tass news agency on Thursday.

The salvage team will detach the compartment from the submarine using robots.

VIDEO CNN's Jill Dougherty reports on the operation and environmental concerns (July 17) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   RESOURCES Animation: How the Kursk will be raised   (Web link courtesy of kursksalvage.com  -- External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive)   MORE STORIES Kursk salvage operation      IN-DEPTH Raising of the Kursk   • Russia's military plight   • Kursk namesake   • Comparative sizes   • Diagram: Last refuge   • Damage to the sub   • Timeline of sinking   • News search   • Message board   • Quick vote   • In-depth: Sub disaster   • Download salvage images     From kursksalvage.com   • Kursk salvage animation     From parallelgraphics.com     (External sites not endorsed by CNN)

The compartment will be left at the bottom of the Barents Sea while the rest of the submarine is raised.

The Kursk, which has two nuclear reactors aboard, sank killing all 118 crewmen during a training exercise in the Arctic waters off northern Russia last August.

Earlier, debris was cleared from submarine to allow the main phase of the salvage operation to proceed.

The salvage team used an unmanned remote-controlled vessel to clear sand and silt from the damaged front compartment.

Russia has maintained that no radiation has leaked from the wreck but says the two-month salvage operation is to ensure it poses no future danger.

The disaster was triggered by a practice torpedo say Russian officials, but they remain uncertain whether this was caused by an internal malfunction in the torpedo -- the theory backed by most international experts -- or a collision.

With the cleaning operation complete, the high-tech dive support ship Mayo arrived in the Norwegian port of Kirkenes on Thursday morning where it will pick up cutting equipment for the next phase of work, ITAR-Tass reported.

The next part of the operation involves drilling holes in the hull and attaching steel cables to lift the vessel -- an operation tentatively set for September 15.

A special pontoon, 140 metres long and 36 metres wide (460 by 120 feet), will hoist the submarine on 26 cables to just below the sea's surface, when it will be towed to the Russian port of Murmansk.

Russia has contracted Dutch salvage company Mammoet and marine services firm Smit International to recover the Kursk from a depth of 100 metres (330 feet).

On Wednesday Vyacheslav Zakharov, the head of Mammoet's Moscow office, was quoted by Reuters saying that the operation's main problem was a lack of communication between all parties involved.

"There are a lot of people and companies engaged in this operation, and not all the people know the actual schedule."

The operation has proceeded despite opposition from some environmental groups, which have urged Russia to bury the sub under concrete or at least take more time to prepare for the risky undertaking.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a pledge to bereaved relatives that the Kursk would be recovered as soon as possible -- at any cost -- to allow them to bury their love ones remains. Only 12 bodies were able to be pulled from the submarine last year.