Ageing ship plagued by breakdowns
Fiercely armed and weighing 55,000 tons, the 31-year-old Kuznetsov may appear formidable, but experts say it is in ‘very poor material condition’.
Despite having a range of 8,500 miles, Russia’s only aircraft carrier has been plagued by years of technical problems and frequently has to return to port for urgent repairs to it steam turbines
The vessel – which is 1,000ft long and has a top speed of 29 knots – is powered by boilers that are so unreliable it is accompanied by a large ocean-going tug whenever it deploys in case it breaks down.
Embarrassingly for the Kremlin, the ship was in such poor condition during its Mediterranean deployment in 2011 that the US Navy kept a close watch on it in case it sank. One sailor was killed when a fire started on board in 2009.
The Kuznetsov’s plumbing is so bad that many of its toilets cannot be used.
Flaws in the piping system mean it freezes during winter. To prevent pipes bursting, the water is turned off to most of the cabins – to the annoyance of its 1,690-man crew.
The ship, which will be retired by 2020, spilled hundreds of tons of oil in the Irish Sea during a refuelling accident seven years ago.