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In summer 2001
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an international team assembles in
Russia's Barents Sea
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to attempt the most
difficult operation
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in the history of ocean salvage.
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The mission
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to raise a Russian nuclear submarine
the Kursk
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victim of a violent disaster.
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An explosion that plunged
the submarine one and a half football
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fields long to the bottom of the sea.
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How this could have happened is
a mystery that only raising
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the sub may solve.
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Nothing like it
has ever been attempted.
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To succeed
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salvagers must summon a network
of ships, divers
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and the heaviest lifting equipment
in the world
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in their quest to raise the Kursk.
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The Barents Sea,
far in the Russian north
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is one of the harshest oceans
on the planet.
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The Barents is hospitable for only
a few short months each summer.
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By September
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it is a frothing fury.
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On September 26th
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when Ocean Salvagers aboard
massive barge arrived
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to lift the sunken submarine Kursk
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They feared they are too late.
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A twisting road has led to
this dramatic day.
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For those who will attempt to
raise the Kursk
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it is now a battle against nature
and time.
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The Kursk's story begins
a year earlier.
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August 10th, 2000.
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Dawn, the Barents Sea above
the Arctic Circle.
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In a restricted harbor
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the nuclear submarine Kursk
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prepares for the largest war game
in her six years of service.
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This place once symbolized terror
to estern navies.
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It was home to the Soviet Union's
fleet of 120 nuclear submarines.
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Now only 40 remain.
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The Kursk is among
the newest and fastest.
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Two nuclear reactors gives her
submerged speed at 28 knots.
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The Kursk carries a crew of 118 men.
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They are young and sharp
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the finest crew in the fleet.
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In an era of decline
in the Russian military
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these men are proud.
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The Kursk symbolizes the future.
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The Kursk is an Oscar II
class submarine
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the largest attack sub ever built.
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Oh, it's huge.
It's over 500 feet long
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about 555 long.
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The Washington Monument
by comparison is 555 feet high.
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It's taller than the Statue of Liberty
is high.
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At 24,000 tons
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the Kursk is over three times the size
of her U.S. counterparts.
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Double hulled
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she is built to withstand a direct hit
from an enemy torpedo.
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Her designers consider her
virtually indestructible.
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On August 10th, 2000
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the Kursk takes part in the largest
Russian naval exercise in a decade.
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The entire Russian northern fleet
is out in force
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testing equipment and weapons in a way
not seen since the height of
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The Cold War.
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American and British spy subs are
in the area
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with orders to learn about
this unusual show of force.
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The Kursk's role in the war game
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is to hunt down the missile cruiser
navy flagship, Peter the Great.
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She fires an unarmed missile
a supersonic
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weapon codenamed Shipwreck.
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The Kursk was built to attack
the United States Navy.
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The Oscar Class submarines
were designed to sink U.S. carriers.
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They're designed to trail
U.S. battle carrier groups
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in the event of war,
fire their missiles and kill the carrier
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before the carrier can kill some
of their ships.
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One month before this mission
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Captain Lieutenant Dmitri Kolesnikov
brings his new bride Olga aboard
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to show her the Kursk.
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For Olga
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the state of the art sub is
a comparing rival
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for her husband's affections.
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I was insanely jealous of that lady
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because I knew he loved her.
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At times I couldn't even tell
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which of us he loved more
me or her.
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Dima told me many times
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that he would come to no harm for
as long as he served on the Kursk.
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That's why when he left port
I wasn't worried.
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I knew that woman would protect him
and take good care of him.
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She wouldn't let anything
happen to him.
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August 12th, 2000.
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The Kursk is scheduled
to fire a practice torpedo.
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The fleet waits.
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The shot is never fired.
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At 11:29 a. m.
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the Kursk explodes and plunges
over 300 feet down.
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The missile carrier, Peter the Great
scours the area with sonar
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in a desperate race
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to rescue anyone
who may have survived.
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Finally, after a day and a half
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the Kursk is discovered.
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A buoy marks the location
of the stricken submarine.
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If there are men alive on the Kursk
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the near-freezing temperature
and limited oxygen
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offer only a few precious
days' survival.
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Still, Russia declines
all offers for help.
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August 20th. Eight days
since the Kursk sank.
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The Russian Rescue Operation
has failed.
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Norwegian divers are finally permitted
to the disaster site.
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A diver hammers on the hull.
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There is no response.
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A robotic vehicle opens
the rear escape hatch.
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Only a final burst of air
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118 men are dead.
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Those who survived the explosion
must have died a horrible, slow death.
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It's like Dante's Inferno,
I mean it's like going to hell.
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I mean those poor guys are stuck
in a sunken ship
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with limited air supply
waiting to die.
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The divers also discover that
the submarine's bow is severely damaged.
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The mystery behind what sank the Kursk
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Iies somewhere in this twisted forward
section of the submarine.
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Families of those lost on the Kursk
seek answers.
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None more so than one mother
Nadezhda Tylik.
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So, then I screamed at them
to tear off their own epaulets.
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Because I think such people
don't deserve to be in the military.
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They had murdered our kids
our near and dear.
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When a Navy sedates Tylik
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it's a P.R. catastrophe.
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Russian president,
Vladimir Putin steps in.
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He vows to raise the Kursk.
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His pledge sends
a message of hope and strength.
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The operation will cost
130 million us dollars
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but Russia believes it must be done.
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There are several reasons for this.
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The first and most important one is
that we need all the information on
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the disaster that we can get.
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The other reason, no less important
is to get this huge hazardous object
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a nuclear object, out of the area
of the Barents Sea
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which is characterized
by heavy traffic.
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These are the two reasons that
make the raising of the Kursk necessary.
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In May 2001, The Dutch company
Mammoet, signed the contract to raise
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the Kursk by September.
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Mammoet is a world leader
in lifting and transport.
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It is a very complicated job,
because you have nuclear aspects.
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You are working on a,
on a depth of 118 meters.
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You have a very,
very special equipment to do the lifting
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So it is for our company...
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...it is really, really a milestone
to do this job.
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Mammoet brings in the
Rotterdam company, Smit international
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as a partner.
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Together, they will tackle
the most complex ocean salvage job
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operation in history.
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The salvagers devise a plan.
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And the enormous barge,
called the Giant 4
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will be anchored over the Kursk.
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26 cables will be lowered from
the Giant and attached to the submarine.
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Each one will be fitted into
a hole cut by divers into the sub's hull
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The sub will be lifted
from the bottom
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and secured under the barge.
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The Kursk will then be towed to
a dry dock, 110 miles away
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near the Russian city of Murmansk.
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Theory pales against practice.
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If they succeed, The Kursk would be
the heaviest vessel ever lifted
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from the ocean floor.
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No ship to my knowledge, this large
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has ever been salvaged from
about 300 feet.
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Something displacing over 20,000 tons
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I don't think we've ever undertaken
anything of this size or complexity
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The Kursk's two nuclear reactors
were shut down.
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But the sub also contains dozens of
missiles and torpedoes.
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A weapons explosion could unleash
a nuclear disaster.
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I don't say there is no risk.
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There is always the risk
in this type of operations
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but you make your assessments
in such a way that you eliminate
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all the events
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and you limit, you limit the risks
in that respect
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but there is always the risk.
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The countdown begins.
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The salvagers have just 4 months.
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before Arctic weather forbids them
from raising the Kursk.
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July, 2001.
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In Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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an enormous barge undergoes
its most unusual refitting
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over 20 years of service.
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She is the Giant 4..
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At 24,000 tons and 450 feet long
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the Giant's purpose
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is to transport heavy objects
for the oil industry,
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even entire wreck?
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But she has never lifted
a nuclear submarine from the ocean floor
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The barge is custom-fitted
for each job.
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For the Kursk
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the Giant is outfitted with
26 lifting jacks.
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Each jack has been tested to 900 tons.
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A bundle of 54 cables extends
from each jack
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which will be lowered to the Kursk.
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During experiments
in a Russian laboratory
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the cables prove stronger
than the steel plugs
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that will marry them to the Kursk.
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To keep the barge steable over the sub
the lifting jack
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has a hydraulic system much like
a car's suspension
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to counteract wave action of 8 feet.
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00:16:19,625 --> 00:16:23,083
So what we have to do is to create
a suspension system based
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on gas cylinders
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that takes out the action of the waves
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00:16:27,583 --> 00:16:30,416
which then takes all the forces
and the load from the waves
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but does not affect the lifting units.
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The Giant undergoes
another critical modification.
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A massive hole is cut into her hull
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in order to accommodate the Kursk's
conning tower, once sub
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and barge are married.
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The bottom of the barge is partly
opened up.
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One part to, to, to have the
the plane
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say the command tower of
the submarine will fall
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into the structure of the barge.
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00:17:01,875 --> 00:17:05,125
And underneath the barge,
we have made a kind of shuttle
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which are, are perfect with wood.
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00:17:07,583 --> 00:17:09,916
And those shuttles, they have
the same curve
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as the outer hull of the submarine.
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Modifications on the Giant continue
24 hours a day
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to meet the September deadline.
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On July 16th, in the Barents Sea
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another ship begins the first phase
of the operation
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over the wreck of the Kursk.
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She is the Mayo. 270 feet long,
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the Mayo is the dive support vessel
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for the men with the most perilous job
in the entire Kursk operation.
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A rotating crew of 12 divers
and 70 support staff are aboard
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The Mayo contains such
"saturation diving system."
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In order to give the divers
maximum time under water
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00:18:02,166 --> 00:18:05,708
they live for four weeks
in tiny steel cylinders
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their bodies pressurized to
a depth of Kursk.
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They are unable to leave the chamber
during their month-long job.
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It would kill them if they did.
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The living chamber is connected to
the diving bell, so that the divers
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can transfer from one to the other
without depressurizing.
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00:18:34,833 --> 00:18:36,750
So when this bell is mated
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00:18:36,916 --> 00:18:39,416
onto here, you've got a sequence
of doors that have to be opened
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and closed when the divers pass
from the living quarters actually
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into the diving bell.
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And then this has to be parted
from the living system and then tracked
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out to the moon port
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and dropped down to their
working depth to carry out their work.
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So basically this is
a taxi to their job.
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A tether connects the divers
to the bell
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delivering them air, light
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00:19:28,458 --> 00:19:31,125
and hot water to heat their suits...
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...as the sea temperature is
barely above freezing.
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Two divers work at all times while
another monitors them from the bell.
247
00:19:46,083 --> 00:19:51,708
300 feet down their first task is
to clear the hull of debris and silt.
248
00:19:52,916 --> 00:19:55,250
It is dangerous and gruesome work.
249
00:19:55,916 --> 00:19:59,333
The Kursk is a tomb to the remains
of over a hundred men.
250
00:20:02,625 --> 00:20:07,375
She also contains unexploded weapons
and two nuclear reactors.
251
00:20:07,750 --> 00:20:11,041
The divers are on constant alert
for radiation leaks.
252
00:20:15,916 --> 00:20:20,083
Their most critical job is
to cut 26 holes into the Kursk's hull
253
00:20:20,250 --> 00:20:21,958
to attach the lifting cables.
254
00:20:25,208 --> 00:20:26,083
To do this
255
00:20:26,250 --> 00:20:29,291
the divers use an abrasive
water jet system.
256
00:20:32,500 --> 00:20:37,291
Shooting from the nozzle at up to
22,000 p-s-i,
257
00:20:37,458 --> 00:20:41,625
the water and grit combination
can cut through the Kursk's steel hull
258
00:20:41,791 --> 00:20:43,041
Iike a laser.
259
00:20:51,125 --> 00:20:52,916
For the divers' safety
260
00:20:53,083 --> 00:20:56,833
the Mayo must remain exactly in place
over the Kursk.
261
00:20:59,541 --> 00:21:01,083
What the ship does is
262
00:21:01,250 --> 00:21:05,000
we've got three bow thrusters forward
and we got two of them
263
00:21:05,166 --> 00:21:06,791
other thrusters aft
264
00:21:06,958 --> 00:21:10,416
and what he's doing is instructing
the computer to actually move.
265
00:21:10,583 --> 00:21:13,541
So it's got a G-P-S position
where it knows where it is
266
00:21:13,708 --> 00:21:17,250
and it's now gonna move ten meters
in the direction to that new position.
267
00:21:17,416 --> 00:21:19,291
And it will then sit on that position
268
00:21:19,458 --> 00:21:23,000
and you can move the ship any
which way, what, whatever you want.
269
00:21:25,083 --> 00:21:28,958
The divers rotate around the clock
in 6 hours.
270
00:21:29,125 --> 00:21:31,166
After each shift
271
00:21:31,333 --> 00:21:34,000
they return to their cramped
compressed home.
272
00:21:38,750 --> 00:21:41,625
Cutting the hull turns out to be
a much more difficult
273
00:21:41,791 --> 00:21:43,750
operation than expected.
274
00:21:46,208 --> 00:21:50,375
The Kursk is covered by six inches
of rubber, a noise reducer.
275
00:21:51,166 --> 00:21:55,625
The precise high-pressure jet merely
mangles this rubber layer.
276
00:22:01,083 --> 00:22:05,750
After two weeks work, just two of
26 holes are cut.
277
00:22:06,416 --> 00:22:08,583
There is no time for this setback.
278
00:22:11,541 --> 00:22:15,083
As divers labour on the hull of
the Kursk, they report that
279
00:22:15,250 --> 00:22:17,750
the bow is destroyed.
280
00:22:18,083 --> 00:22:20,750
Few things could cause
such destruction.
281
00:22:26,666 --> 00:22:28,708
Many in the Russian Navy believe
282
00:22:28,875 --> 00:22:32,416
American spy submarine collided with
the Kursk.
283
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,916
I think that as the submarine Kursk
284
00:22:54,083 --> 00:22:58,375
was working on its mission
in the Northern testing areas
285
00:22:58,625 --> 00:23:02,166
it was kept under surveillance
by foreign submarines.
286
00:23:02,333 --> 00:23:05,416
I'm not pointing any fingers here.
287
00:23:05,583 --> 00:23:07,291
It isn't relevant
288
00:23:07,458 --> 00:23:11,250
whether those were U.S. or British
or some other submarines.
289
00:23:12,875 --> 00:23:15,625
There have been dozens of
submarine collisions
290
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,125
most in Russia's Barents Sea.
291
00:23:18,750 --> 00:23:22,583
Captain Sergei Bolgakov experienced
one of the most recent.
292
00:23:27,333 --> 00:23:28,916
In March, 1993
293
00:23:29,083 --> 00:23:30,708
I was on active duty.
294
00:23:30,875 --> 00:23:33,166
On March 20th, the collision occurred.
295
00:23:33,583 --> 00:23:36,250
As we found out later,
we collided with the U.S...
296
00:23:36,416 --> 00:23:37,958
submarine, Grayling.
297
00:23:38,333 --> 00:23:40,333
It happened in the Barents Sea.
298
00:23:49,041 --> 00:23:51,916
The U.S. Navy has been operating
up there for quite a while
299
00:23:52,083 --> 00:23:53,500
keeping an eye on the Soviet Navy
300
00:23:53,666 --> 00:23:55,500
really to see see how they operate
301
00:23:55,666 --> 00:23:57,583
and what their capabilities were
so in the event of a war
302
00:23:57,750 --> 00:23:59,625
we would be able
to handle them a lot more easily.
303
00:24:00,708 --> 00:24:03,291
Three American submarines were
in the area
304
00:24:03,458 --> 00:24:06,916
spying on the Russian naval operation
when the Kursk sank.
305
00:24:07,583 --> 00:24:11,375
But the United States denies that
one of its submarines collided
306
00:24:11,541 --> 00:24:12,583
with the Kursk.
307
00:24:12,750 --> 00:24:16,416
I don't think the American submarine
would have, one, made it back.
308
00:24:16,583 --> 00:24:17,791
Two, if it made it back
309
00:24:17,958 --> 00:24:20,166
it would have probably done so
on the surface.
310
00:24:20,333 --> 00:24:21,416
And three
311
00:24:21,583 --> 00:24:25,083
with 130 people on the American
attack submarine...
312
00:24:25,250 --> 00:24:26,791
we'd know by now.
313
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,500
The Russian Navy continued to
search clues
314
00:24:33,666 --> 00:24:35,541
a telltale scrape
315
00:24:35,750 --> 00:24:37,875
maybe even some parts from a NATO sub.
316
00:24:38,416 --> 00:24:41,208
So far they find no evidence.
317
00:24:43,916 --> 00:24:48,708
The Navy now guards the Kursk's site
from any other unwelcome intruders.
318
00:24:49,375 --> 00:24:52,916
The missile cruiser, Peter The Great
keeps constant vigil
319
00:24:53,083 --> 00:24:55,625
warding off NATO ships and submarines.
320
00:24:57,416 --> 00:24:59,625
Spy ships circle the area
321
00:24:59,791 --> 00:25:01,375
this one Norwegian
322
00:25:01,541 --> 00:25:04,666
inquisitive about the unique
salvage operation.
323
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:07,958
Out of sight, below the sea
324
00:25:08,125 --> 00:25:11,708
divers continue their morbid work
on a steel tomb.
325
00:25:12,333 --> 00:25:15,541
Rusting Place but remained
more than 100 men.
326
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,833
And on the first anniversary of
the sub's loss
327
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,333
at a service in Saint Petersburg
328
00:25:26,583 --> 00:25:29,833
the mourning has still only
just begun.
329
00:25:38,083 --> 00:25:43,041
12 corpses were removed by divers
from the submarine in October, 2000.
330
00:25:43,916 --> 00:25:46,458
One of them was Dmitri Kolesnikov.
331
00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:51,250
On his body, a note wrapped in plastic
332
00:25:51,458 --> 00:25:54,875
final words to his wife of four months
Olga.
333
00:25:59,500 --> 00:26:03,250
I love you.
Don't be too upset.
334
00:26:03,875 --> 00:26:06,083
I can't see my own writing in the dark
335
00:26:06,250 --> 00:26:08,416
but I'll try writing nevertheless.
336
00:26:08,833 --> 00:26:11,375
It looks like we don't have
much chance
337
00:26:11,583 --> 00:26:13,791
ten or 20 percent at best.
338
00:26:14,625 --> 00:26:17,000
Let's hope someone will read this.
339
00:26:17,750 --> 00:26:21,416
Here is a list of names of
all compartment personnel who are
340
00:26:21,583 --> 00:26:25,208
at present in compartment nine
and are going to try to break out.
341
00:26:26,625 --> 00:26:28,166
Love to everyone.
342
00:26:28,750 --> 00:26:30,250
Don't despair.
343
00:26:30,500 --> 00:26:31,750
Kolesnikov.
344
00:26:34,833 --> 00:26:36,250
Kolesnikov's note says
345
00:26:36,416 --> 00:26:39,583
he was trapped in
the very rear of the submarine
346
00:26:39,750 --> 00:26:41,333
with 22 other men.
347
00:26:44,041 --> 00:26:48,708
He writes three hours
after the explosion at 1:15 p. m.
348
00:26:48,875 --> 00:26:50,583
and again at 3:45.
349
00:26:51,250 --> 00:26:54,583
Proof that he and several others
spent their final hours
350
00:26:54,750 --> 00:26:56,500
in icy darkness
351
00:26:56,833 --> 00:26:59,750
waiting for a rescue
that would never come.
352
00:27:04,083 --> 00:27:06,708
I don't know
where Dima found the strength
353
00:27:08,166 --> 00:27:10,166
to write those amazing words.
354
00:27:19,166 --> 00:27:22,000
One year to the day
since the Kursk's sank
355
00:27:22,166 --> 00:27:23,958
the people of Saint Petersburg
356
00:27:24,125 --> 00:27:26,458
pay tribute to the loss of the crew.
357
00:27:35,250 --> 00:27:37,750
Many must have died instantly
358
00:27:37,916 --> 00:27:42,625
But others, like Dmitri Kolesnikov
lived a few harrowing hours longer
359
00:27:42,916 --> 00:27:46,458
ultimately running out of oxygen
and time.
360
00:27:47,541 --> 00:27:51,833
For the families, raising the Kursk
has a personal meanings.
361
00:27:52,083 --> 00:27:54,333
It will bring their dead home.
362
00:28:01,791 --> 00:28:04,625
When the Kursk sank in August, 2000
363
00:28:04,791 --> 00:28:08,583
the sound was detected by scientists
nearby in Norway.
364
00:28:09,291 --> 00:28:12,958
They heard two noises just over two
minutes apart.
365
00:28:13,500 --> 00:28:15,333
The first, small.
366
00:28:15,708 --> 00:28:19,166
The next, 3.5 on the Richter Scale
367
00:28:22,458 --> 00:28:24,666
comparable to a small earthquake.
368
00:28:27,833 --> 00:28:30,000
But one thing was unusual:
369
00:28:30,416 --> 00:28:33,291
the explosions were eerily similar.
370
00:28:33,458 --> 00:28:34,625
We compared them
371
00:28:34,791 --> 00:28:39,625
and they were very, very close
in terms of the, seismic signal.
372
00:28:40,750 --> 00:28:42,625
Talking about the character
of them now
373
00:28:42,791 --> 00:28:45,000
of course the size
was vastly different.
374
00:28:45,166 --> 00:28:46,708
The, the first one was very small
375
00:28:46,875 --> 00:28:50,500
and was barely undetected even
at the closest station.
376
00:28:52,416 --> 00:28:57,333
The acoustic evidence provides clues
to what happened when the Kursk sank.
377
00:29:00,375 --> 00:29:02,708
August 12th, 2000.
378
00:29:06,916 --> 00:29:08,250
As part of a war game
379
00:29:08,416 --> 00:29:11,416
the Kursk is ordered
to fire a practice torpedo.
380
00:29:17,750 --> 00:29:19,416
At 8:51 a. m.
381
00:29:19,583 --> 00:29:22,916
the Kursk's captain radios
for confirmation.
382
00:29:25,250 --> 00:29:27,041
The missile cruiser, Peter The Great
383
00:29:27,208 --> 00:29:29,583
moves 30 miles off and waits.
384
00:29:37,583 --> 00:29:39,250
Two and a half hours later
385
00:29:39,416 --> 00:29:42,166
a small explosion from below.
386
00:29:46,416 --> 00:29:49,041
The captain does not surface the sub.
387
00:29:49,416 --> 00:29:52,375
The Kursk must be severely flooding.
388
00:29:55,833 --> 00:29:58,041
134 seconds later
389
00:30:02,208 --> 00:30:04,291
a devastating blast.
390
00:30:17,333 --> 00:30:21,708
The sound indicates that
the first explosion was a single torpedo
391
00:30:22,833 --> 00:30:26,541
The torpedo contains
a tank of fuel propellant.
392
00:30:26,708 --> 00:30:31,375
On typical Russian torpedoes
that fuel is hydrogen peroxide.
393
00:30:31,791 --> 00:30:35,708
Heated hydrogen peroxide in contact
with certain metal surfaces
394
00:30:35,875 --> 00:30:38,000
is known to explode.
395
00:30:40,208 --> 00:30:42,041
Fire had started.
396
00:30:42,208 --> 00:30:44,250
The hydrogen peroxide heated
397
00:30:44,416 --> 00:30:47,375
and the crew failed to
eject it overboard.
398
00:30:47,791 --> 00:30:50,166
The explosion was inevitable.
399
00:30:51,916 --> 00:30:54,125
That fire then, a couple of
minutes later
400
00:30:54,291 --> 00:30:57,083
spread to one or two other torpedoes
401
00:30:57,250 --> 00:31:02,750
Iying alongside this one
and that then detonated the warheads
402
00:31:02,916 --> 00:31:05,166
which just tore open the bow of
the submarine.
403
00:31:05,625 --> 00:31:10,500
The second explosion would have
killed everyone in the forward
404
00:31:10,666 --> 00:31:14,208
half of the submarine
in less than a minute.
405
00:31:16,541 --> 00:31:20,791
But what triggered the first explosion
remains an unsolved mystery.
406
00:31:29,041 --> 00:31:31,708
August 14th, 2001.
407
00:31:34,083 --> 00:31:36,500
300 feet below the dive vessel Mayo
408
00:31:36,916 --> 00:31:40,416
the divers labor against the Kursk's
tough outer hull.
409
00:31:44,291 --> 00:31:45,583
After four weeks
410
00:31:45,750 --> 00:31:49,583
only 11 of 26 holes have been cut
in the submarine.
411
00:31:51,916 --> 00:31:55,083
They had expected to be finished
the first phase by now.
412
00:31:55,875 --> 00:31:59,166
And winter weather is just
one month away.
413
00:32:05,041 --> 00:32:06,208
Despite to setback
414
00:32:06,375 --> 00:32:12,500
Phase Two is set in motion.
200 miles west in Kirkenes, Norway
415
00:32:12,750 --> 00:32:17,083
a barge carrying a revolutionary saw
arrives from Holland.
416
00:32:21,708 --> 00:32:26,291
The salvagers fear that the damaged
bow may fall off during the lift.
417
00:32:26,750 --> 00:32:30,916
They have decided to remove 60 feet
from the front of the submarine.
418
00:32:32,083 --> 00:32:36,500
But many believe the Russians have
their own motives for this surgery.
419
00:32:36,875 --> 00:32:39,958
It will leave the clues of
what sank the sub
420
00:32:40,125 --> 00:32:42,416
at the bottom of the Barents Sea.
421
00:32:45,458 --> 00:32:50,041
I think the only hard evidence
if it exists at all
422
00:32:50,500 --> 00:32:52,416
is in the forward torpedo room.
423
00:32:52,583 --> 00:32:56,208
And again that's the section
they're leaving on the ocean floor.
424
00:32:56,583 --> 00:33:01,041
But they've lost a chance
to have technicians
425
00:33:01,208 --> 00:33:03,166
forensic scientists if you will
426
00:33:03,333 --> 00:33:06,833
go over that forward torpedo room
once it was on the surface.
427
00:33:08,625 --> 00:33:13,583
The saw is a cable encrusted
in sharp steel cutting bushings.
428
00:33:14,916 --> 00:33:16,958
It has been tested on an old hulk
429
00:33:17,125 --> 00:33:19,541
similar in strength to the hull of
the Kursk.
430
00:33:22,458 --> 00:33:26,916
But until the divers complete
cutting holes, the saw barge will wait
431
00:33:27,083 --> 00:33:30,500
in Norway, a delay the operation
cannot afford.
432
00:33:35,916 --> 00:33:38,625
110 miles south of the site
433
00:33:38,791 --> 00:33:42,250
the largest dry dock in Russia
awaits the Kursk.
434
00:33:44,625 --> 00:33:48,541
But the dry dock is too shallow
to accommodate the barge Giant
435
00:33:48,791 --> 00:33:51,208
with the submarine harnessed beneath.
436
00:33:54,250 --> 00:33:58,083
The solution lies in Severodvinsk
in the Russian north
437
00:33:58,250 --> 00:33:59,958
at the Sevmarsh shipyard.
438
00:34:02,916 --> 00:34:07,125
Sevmarsh has the job of
building pontoons for the final critical
439
00:34:07,291 --> 00:34:08,958
part of the lift.
440
00:34:09,750 --> 00:34:10,916
Ironically
441
00:34:11,083 --> 00:34:15,375
this shipyard also built the Kursk
ten years earlier.
442
00:34:18,333 --> 00:34:20,333
The huge submersible pontoons
443
00:34:20,500 --> 00:34:23,291
will lift the Giant fully
out of the water
444
00:34:23,541 --> 00:34:27,208
and escort the barge-sub combination
into the dry dock.
445
00:34:29,583 --> 00:34:33,958
The construction of 300-foot long
pontoons in just three months
446
00:34:34,125 --> 00:34:38,375
is the fastest large-scale operation
in the history of shipbuilding.
447
00:34:41,750 --> 00:34:44,208
August 21, 2001.
448
00:34:45,583 --> 00:34:48,416
Salvagers get their first taste
of winter.
449
00:34:48,958 --> 00:34:50,708
All operations cease.
450
00:34:51,250 --> 00:34:54,041
September will be much worse.
451
00:34:59,541 --> 00:35:02,416
After three days of ferocious seas
452
00:35:02,583 --> 00:35:04,875
work resumes on the wreck of
the Kursk.
453
00:35:05,875 --> 00:35:08,958
But the salvagers now officially
admit that technical problems
454
00:35:09,125 --> 00:35:11,375
have delayed the lift by a week.
455
00:35:15,166 --> 00:35:18,166
Now the divers proceed
at a furious pace.
456
00:35:18,541 --> 00:35:21,416
Over the next two days ten holes
are cut.
457
00:35:22,916 --> 00:35:25,333
Finally, on August 28th
458
00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:28,583
the last of 26 holes is finished.
459
00:35:30,750 --> 00:35:33,083
The first phase is complete.
460
00:35:33,291 --> 00:35:37,250
Now the salvage ships mobilize in
a synchronized plan.
461
00:35:37,791 --> 00:35:39,750
The saw barge leaves Norway.
462
00:35:42,916 --> 00:35:45,750
And sixteen hundred miles away
in Amsterdam
463
00:35:45,916 --> 00:35:47,583
the Giant gets underway.
464
00:35:48,208 --> 00:35:50,375
Towed at just five miles an hour
465
00:35:50,541 --> 00:35:53,416
the Giant will reach the Kursk
in two weeks.
466
00:35:54,666 --> 00:35:57,458
After 2 month's success and delays
467
00:35:58,083 --> 00:36:00,875
greatest risks are ahead.
468
00:36:05,500 --> 00:36:08,000
August 30th, 2001
469
00:36:08,458 --> 00:36:11,416
The cutting saw, designed to sever
60 feet off
470
00:36:11,583 --> 00:36:13,333
the mangled bow of the Kursk
471
00:36:13,500 --> 00:36:15,000
arrives at the site.
472
00:36:18,833 --> 00:36:22,750
The humble, rusting barge is flagship
of the next and most dangerous
473
00:36:22,916 --> 00:36:24,541
phase of the operation.
474
00:36:27,416 --> 00:36:30,000
The saw must be placed exactly
475
00:36:30,250 --> 00:36:33,750
to avoid explosive impact with
the sub's forward missiles
476
00:36:33,916 --> 00:36:36,750
or with torpedoes
in the devastated bow.
477
00:36:39,375 --> 00:36:41,541
Two 40-foot-high anchors
478
00:36:41,708 --> 00:36:44,500
designed to burrow their way
into the seabed
479
00:36:44,666 --> 00:36:46,833
will keep tension on the saw.
480
00:36:47,875 --> 00:36:52,291
They are lowered and then positioned
on either side of the Kursk's bow
481
00:36:52,833 --> 00:36:55,833
an operation that takes
four precious days.
482
00:37:01,583 --> 00:37:04,208
The saw chain, with its steel bushings
483
00:37:04,375 --> 00:37:07,000
stretches over the top of
the Kursk's hull.
484
00:37:09,291 --> 00:37:10,541
On September 4th
485
00:37:10,708 --> 00:37:12,458
the cutting begins.
486
00:37:12,666 --> 00:37:14,416
Diving operations halt
487
00:37:14,583 --> 00:37:16,833
during lethal contact with the saw.
488
00:37:19,708 --> 00:37:23,166
The chain slices through the Kursk
at an amazing speed.
489
00:37:23,333 --> 00:37:26,166
The operation was expected
to take days.
490
00:37:26,708 --> 00:37:31,041
25 percent of the cutting is complete
after just two hours.
491
00:37:35,125 --> 00:37:36,500
Then a setback.
492
00:37:36,750 --> 00:37:39,416
The saw breaks loose from the anchors.
493
00:37:43,791 --> 00:37:45,333
Working around the clock
494
00:37:45,500 --> 00:37:48,916
it takes a full two days
to reattach the saw.
495
00:37:53,875 --> 00:37:55,416
After another day's work....
496
00:37:55,583 --> 00:37:56,875
good progress
497
00:37:57,041 --> 00:38:00,375
only 20 percent of the Kursk's hull
remains to be cut.
498
00:38:06,041 --> 00:38:08,750
But the saw now digs into the seabed
499
00:38:08,916 --> 00:38:11,000
and breaks again and again.
500
00:38:12,083 --> 00:38:14,750
The delay costs another three days.
501
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:20,666
Now the Giant completes
her sixteen-hundred-mile voyage.
502
00:38:20,916 --> 00:38:25,583
She arrives in nearby Kirkenes
Norway, destructers to wait there.
503
00:38:30,916 --> 00:38:32,500
If the bow is not removed
504
00:38:32,666 --> 00:38:36,458
the Giant will never get her chance
to lift the Kursk.
505
00:38:49,958 --> 00:38:51,666
On September 11th
506
00:38:51,916 --> 00:38:54,750
the terror event that shakes
the United States
507
00:38:54,916 --> 00:38:57,333
reaches the distant Barents Sea.
508
00:39:05,708 --> 00:39:08,583
Russia joins the world in mourning.
509
00:39:15,166 --> 00:39:17,583
But the operation does not pause.
510
00:39:17,750 --> 00:39:20,666
Divers continue to grapple with
the saw.
511
00:39:23,041 --> 00:39:24,583
On September 14th
512
00:39:24,916 --> 00:39:29,083
the final few inches of the Kursk's
steel hull are severed.
513
00:39:30,958 --> 00:39:34,166
Now another frenetic week passes
514
00:39:34,333 --> 00:39:38,666
as teams of divers clear debris
from the holes in the Kursk's hull
515
00:39:38,833 --> 00:39:40,666
to install the lifting cables.
516
00:39:46,333 --> 00:39:50,458
On September 26th, the Giant
arrives from Norway
517
00:39:50,625 --> 00:39:53,333
and anchors in position
over the Kursk.
518
00:40:00,250 --> 00:40:02,291
But the Giant may be too late.
519
00:40:02,583 --> 00:40:05,958
The deadline to lift the Kursk
has passed
520
00:40:06,125 --> 00:40:07,625
and from now on
521
00:40:07,791 --> 00:40:11,041
the weather will be the salvagers'
worst enemy.
522
00:40:11,333 --> 00:40:12,750
From mid-September on
523
00:40:12,916 --> 00:40:15,916
you're not going to be able to
pull off a salvage operation.
524
00:40:16,083 --> 00:40:18,666
From mid-September probably to March
525
00:40:19,166 --> 00:40:20,875
because of heavy weather.
526
00:40:21,500 --> 00:40:22,833
Just then,
527
00:40:23,083 --> 00:40:26,708
the worst storm of the year lashes
the Barents Sea.
528
00:40:32,916 --> 00:40:35,083
The Giant's captain, Pete Sink
529
00:40:35,250 --> 00:40:38,250
calls his short team to consider
the options.
530
00:40:39,916 --> 00:40:40,708
Anchored
531
00:40:40,875 --> 00:40:44,083
he runs the risk of
facing the storm broadside
532
00:40:44,250 --> 00:40:46,208
putting the barge in jeopardy,...
533
00:40:46,500 --> 00:40:48,041
but to leave the shelter
534
00:40:48,208 --> 00:40:50,375
would delay the lift even further.
535
00:40:57,416 --> 00:40:59,958
Sink the team decides to ride it out.
536
00:41:10,458 --> 00:41:14,750
For two days the Giant is battered
by wind and sea.
537
00:41:23,083 --> 00:41:25,041
The weather breaks at last
538
00:41:25,375 --> 00:41:30,041
but the lift operation needs at least
48 hours of calm seas to succeed.
539
00:41:31,750 --> 00:41:33,416
In nearby Murmansk
540
00:41:33,583 --> 00:41:37,666
Project chief Frans van Seumeren
makes a grim statement.
541
00:41:37,833 --> 00:41:40,541
Of course
542
00:41:40,791 --> 00:41:45,583
it is sad that the forecast
for tomorrow is not good
543
00:41:45,750 --> 00:41:48,458
because there's a lot of swell
with the northeast wind
544
00:41:48,625 --> 00:41:51,208
and probably we cannot
do a lot tomorrow.
545
00:41:51,916 --> 00:41:57,041
Thursday, Friday is, is by the
weather not possible anymore.
546
00:42:00,083 --> 00:42:02,666
But they have come too far to
give up now.
547
00:42:03,416 --> 00:42:06,208
The next stage of
the operation proceeds.
548
00:42:07,375 --> 00:42:09,666
Four cables from each lifting jack
549
00:42:09,833 --> 00:42:14,083
guide heavy steel plugs called
grippers down to the submarine.
550
00:42:15,416 --> 00:42:19,083
The grippers secure each of
the 26 lifting bundles to holes
551
00:42:19,250 --> 00:42:20,875
in the submarine.
552
00:42:21,458 --> 00:42:24,125
They expand and lock into position.
553
00:42:31,541 --> 00:42:34,125
Now the Giant is married to the Kursk.
554
00:42:34,916 --> 00:42:36,416
After four months
555
00:42:36,583 --> 00:42:41,000
all of the intricate pieces of
the operation are finally in place.
556
00:42:43,500 --> 00:42:45,250
The weather must hold.
557
00:42:45,416 --> 00:42:50,041
The lifting jacks can only
compensate for waves of about 8 feet.
558
00:42:50,833 --> 00:42:52,750
If the waves get any higher
559
00:42:52,916 --> 00:42:54,583
the sub will be disconnected
560
00:42:54,750 --> 00:42:59,333
and the lift called off
maybe forever.
561
00:43:07,125 --> 00:43:08,666
3:30 a.m.
562
00:43:08,875 --> 00:43:11,750
October 8th, 2001.
563
00:43:12,625 --> 00:43:15,708
In calm seas and biting Arctic air
564
00:43:15,875 --> 00:43:20,083
the time has come the last to attempt
to raise the Kursk.
565
00:43:23,041 --> 00:43:24,958
Divers are cleared from the site.
566
00:43:25,416 --> 00:43:27,666
If even a single cable breaks
567
00:43:27,833 --> 00:43:29,666
the recoil could kill.
568
00:43:30,666 --> 00:43:31,458
Okay, Malcolm
569
00:43:31,625 --> 00:43:34,250
you starting with the lifting
and pull to the back side
570
00:43:34,416 --> 00:43:38,291
several tons, yes?
Okay?
571
00:43:41,958 --> 00:43:45,000
Jon van Seumeran is
in charge of the Giant.
572
00:43:46,666 --> 00:43:49,083
Yeah, I'm back. Yeah, touching on
the aft section now.
573
00:43:49,541 --> 00:43:52,416
The Kursk is embedded
in the ocean floor
574
00:43:52,875 --> 00:43:56,041
making an exact lifting
calculation impossible.
575
00:43:57,375 --> 00:44:01,833
The system can handle 18000 tons
lifting power.
576
00:44:02,583 --> 00:44:05,416
The salvagers begin with 4,000
577
00:44:05,583 --> 00:44:08,791
about halfway divided between the bow
and the stern.
578
00:44:38,583 --> 00:44:42,125
Computers show the weight supported
by each jack
579
00:44:42,333 --> 00:44:45,416
and indicate how each hydraulic
compensator counteracts
580
00:44:45,583 --> 00:44:47,416
the motion of the sea.
581
00:44:55,458 --> 00:44:59,000
Power is increased to 7,000 tons
582
00:45:02,125 --> 00:45:06,875
Miraculously, suction from the seabed
offers no resistance.
583
00:45:11,375 --> 00:45:16,458
At 9,600 tons, the Kursk rises off
the ocean floor.
584
00:45:27,083 --> 00:45:32,166
The Kursk is the heaviest object ever
lifted from the bottom of the sea.
585
00:45:37,875 --> 00:45:39,750
At 5:30 p.m.
586
00:45:39,916 --> 00:45:42,583
she fits snuggly under the Giant.
587
00:45:44,750 --> 00:45:48,750
It is a technological victory
that has never been equaled
588
00:45:48,916 --> 00:45:51,333
in the history of ocean salvage.
589
00:45:54,958 --> 00:45:58,250
Over a year
since her catastrophic loss
590
00:45:58,416 --> 00:46:02,625
the Kursk and her entombed crew
are going home.
591
00:46:14,416 --> 00:46:19,500
It takes two days for the Giant
and her tragic cargo, reach the dry dock
592
00:46:19,666 --> 00:46:22,666
110 miles south near Murmansk.
593
00:46:23,875 --> 00:46:26,291
Another technical challenge awaits.
594
00:46:26,875 --> 00:46:29,083
The dock is too shallow
595
00:46:29,250 --> 00:46:33,416
so pontoons must lift the Giant
and the Kursk.
596
00:46:34,916 --> 00:46:39,416
The Russian-built pontoons are designed
to lock onto the Giant's hull
597
00:46:39,708 --> 00:46:43,500
but problems plague the seemingly
simple plan.
598
00:46:45,875 --> 00:46:48,583
The operation takes 12 days.
599
00:46:48,833 --> 00:46:54,166
But in the sheltered bay,
Arctic storms no longer pose any threat.
600
00:46:56,291 --> 00:46:57,791
It is mid-October
601
00:46:57,958 --> 00:47:00,583
a full month later than scheduled.
602
00:47:00,750 --> 00:47:04,333
Finally, the pontoons lock
onto the Giant.
603
00:47:04,708 --> 00:47:06,916
Water is pumped from the pontoons
604
00:47:07,083 --> 00:47:10,208
Iifting the barge 25 feet
above the water.
605
00:47:11,916 --> 00:47:15,333
The Kursk emerges beneath the Giant.
606
00:47:22,541 --> 00:47:24,916
Russian Navy experts will spend
the next months
607
00:47:25,083 --> 00:47:27,875
combing the sub for clues to
what sank her.
608
00:47:30,208 --> 00:47:34,416
They find parts of the front of
the sub embedded deep in her middle
609
00:47:34,916 --> 00:47:38,375
terrifying proof of
a massive torpedo explosion.
610
00:47:41,708 --> 00:47:46,416
Experts estimates that the blast cost
to 5 tons TNT
611
00:47:46,583 --> 00:47:48,875
through the sub's steel hull.
612
00:47:50,333 --> 00:47:52,708
But they can find no proof
if the explosion was caused
613
00:47:52,875 --> 00:47:57,583
by a collision
or by human error inside the Kursk.
614
00:48:01,250 --> 00:48:04,416
On October 21st, 2001
615
00:48:04,666 --> 00:48:08,625
the Russian Navy eases the barge
cradling their sheltered submarine
616
00:48:08,791 --> 00:48:10,333
into the dry dock.
617
00:48:29,083 --> 00:48:30,666
Underneath the Giant,
618
00:48:30,833 --> 00:48:34,166
the lifting cables are lowered
and grippers retracted.
619
00:48:39,583 --> 00:48:40,625
Two days later,
620
00:48:40,791 --> 00:48:43,583
salvage ship and submarine
finally part.
621
00:48:44,416 --> 00:48:46,250
The Kursk's conning tower
622
00:48:46,416 --> 00:48:48,583
appears in the Arctic air.
623
00:48:54,083 --> 00:48:59,416
The Kursk's fate is to be scrapped
at a cost of ten million U.S. dollars.
624
00:49:00,083 --> 00:49:03,666
A United States Congress Nuclear
Safety Fund will pay
625
00:49:03,833 --> 00:49:05,291
for her destruction.
626
00:49:14,250 --> 00:49:16,041
Deep inside the Kursk
627
00:49:16,208 --> 00:49:19,375
there is one final gruesome task
628
00:49:19,583 --> 00:49:21,833
the search for human remains.
629
00:49:28,625 --> 00:49:31,250
Of 118 men lost
630
00:49:31,416 --> 00:49:33,875
82 bodies are recovered.
631
00:49:34,041 --> 00:49:35,916
Most can be identified
632
00:49:36,083 --> 00:49:39,333
evidence that many may not
have been killed in the blast.
633
00:49:40,166 --> 00:49:42,791
Several may have died hours later
634
00:49:42,958 --> 00:49:46,375
trapped in darkness,
knee deep in icy water
635
00:49:47,583 --> 00:49:50,291
when oxygen finally ran out.
636
00:50:01,791 --> 00:50:04,833
This image haunts Olga Kolesnikov
637
00:50:05,250 --> 00:50:08,791
the final terrible moments
of her husband Dmitri
638
00:50:08,958 --> 00:50:11,083
stranded in the submarine.
639
00:50:19,083 --> 00:50:21,541
I am still waiting for him
to come back.
640
00:50:22,250 --> 00:50:24,208
I am waiting for him all of the time.
641
00:50:25,166 --> 00:50:28,916
With my mind, I understand that
I must accept this tragedy
642
00:50:29,083 --> 00:50:30,916
as an accomplished fact
643
00:50:31,541 --> 00:50:33,750
but my heart refuses to believe it.
644
00:50:38,083 --> 00:50:40,333
At the bottom of the Barents Sea
645
00:50:40,500 --> 00:50:43,916
divers placed a memorial
where the Kursk was lost
646
00:50:45,541 --> 00:50:48,208
a permanent tribute to the catastrophe
647
00:50:49,166 --> 00:50:52,500
and to the triumph of
those who raised her
648
00:50:52,666 --> 00:50:55,375
from the unforgiving sea.
49307
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