Kursk operation moves forward

The Kursk will be cut in two and then lifted off the sea bed

SEVERODVINSK, Russia -- The operation to raise the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk has taken a major step forward with the completion of the first of two giant pontoons designed specifically to hoist the 18,000-ton vessel into dry dock.

The pontoon was taken out of the Sevmash shipyard on Thursday.

Hundreds of officials, journalists and workers from the Sevmash shipyard -- where the Kursk was launched in 1994 -- watched the pontoon inching along a track onto a dock.

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An Orthodox priest blessed the 330ft-long, 53 foot-wide structure with holy water, and a bottle of champagne was shattered on it.

Sevmash built the pontoon on order from the Dutch company Mammoet, which, in conjunction with another Dutch company, Smit International, is preparing to lift the Kursk off the seabed.

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Sevmash director David Pashayev said. "The work was also important for us because we built the submarine and we consider it our duty to help raise it."

The pontoons, the second of which is to be launched next week, are equipped with engines, pumps, life-support systems and other essential equipment.

Early next month, they will be towed to the Russian navy's Roslyakovo ship repair plant near the port of Murmansk, where they will await the arrival of the submarine.

After the Kursk is towed to harbour, the pontoons will be used to hoist the submarine onto a dry dock.

The Kursk sank in the Barents Sea after two explosions during naval exercises on August 12 last year, killing all 118 men aboard.

The cause of the sinking remains a mystery.

Officials say the powerful explosions were triggered by a practice torpedo, but they remain uncertain whether they were caused by an internal flaw in the torpedo.

Russian officials maintain that the vessel's two nuclear reactors were safely shut down and have not leaked any radiation.

It is hoped to raise the Kursk to the surface on September 15 using steel cables connected to 26 computer-controlled hydraulic lifting devices anchored to a giant barge.

However, rough weather has delayed some of the ppreparations

Towing the submarine to Roslyakovo is expected to take up to two weeks.