Norwegians finalising plan to recover Kursk bodies

1:00 PM

OSLO - The Norwegian company whose divers helped open the wreck of a Russian submarine has said it is close to completing plans for raising the Kursk or cutting it open to recover the 118 bodies aboard.

"We are in very constructive discussions with the Russians and we are working to complete a plan of action in the very near future," Stolt spokesman Julian Thomson told Reuters.

He said details of a plan would be available "in a few days."

Russia had asked Stolt, which specialises in diving in the North Sea for the oil and gas industry, to look into ways of retrieving the remains of the crew from the 17,000-tonne submarine, which sank in the Barents Sea on August 12.

Stolt had previously said first indications seemed to suggest it would be easier to raise the nuclear-powered vessel than to open it and retrieve corpses from the cramped compartments on the seabed 108 metres (354 ft) down.

"It depends what we decide to do. We have a number of options on the table," Thomson said, declining to give further details "until a final contract has been signed".

Thomson said Stolt was aiming to form a diving team of both Norwegian and Russian divers and that it was considering training in Norway or in Aberdeen, Scotland.

He declined to comment on a statement by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov on Tuesday that the recovery of bodies would start in September.

Stolt has previously said that any mission may have to wait until 2001, after the winter.

- REUTERS

Herald Online feature: Russian sub disaster

Russian Centre for Arms Control: OSKAR subs

World Navies Today: Russian subs

Russian Navy official website