Decision On Use Of A Steel Rope To Lift Sub Above Sea Bottom To Be Made After Fixing Of All Grips

A decision to use a steel rope for heaving the Kursk and separating it from the sea bottom will be taken after all grips have been fixed, said Vice-Admiral Mikhail Motsak, in charge of the special-purpose expedition. He said that, after all the 26 grips are fastened inside the basket guides in the hull of the Kursk, attempts will be made to separate it from the soil. Now the Kursk hull is sucked in by a 2.5-3-tonne force. If two to six hours of trying to heave the Kursk produce no result, use of a steel rope can be decided on, said Motsak. After the Kursk sub is raised 8 meters from the bottom of the Giant-4 barge, the lifting operation will be suspended. Distribution of the lifting forces will be checked. The barge will be aligned and then level out the sub to sit on a special saddle. After the Kursk is 0.8-1 meters above the saddle of the Giant-4 barge, a special gas suction system will be used. It will fix the sub on the saddle. A 25,000-tonne-force will be used to enhance the sub's attachment, said Mikhail Motsak.