Sloppy Safety Procedures Sank Sub

Investigators said on Monday an obsolete torpedo and sloppy safety procedures were the most likely causes of a blast aboard the nuclear-powered Kursk submarine, Russia's worst post-Soviet naval disaster.

The Kursk sank in August 2000 with the loss of its entire 118 crew after two huge underwater explosions.

Prosecutors carrying out the investigation after inspecting the wreck ruled out a collision with a NATO submarine.

Both the United States and Britain, which had submarines in the Barents Sea at the time, have denied involvement, and most independent specialists dismissed the collision theory and pointed at a torpedo malfunction as the most plausible cause of the disaster.

Navy chief Vladimir Kuroyedov admitted the navy had "placed unfounded trust" in the weapon propelled by highly volatile hydrogen peroxide, which in case of a leak could have caused a powerful explosion.

"It's highly unstable and its contact with certain metals may cause unpredictable consequences," Kuroyedov said. "The torpedoes have already been removed from submarines. We are now considering a replacement."

He mentioned a leak of hydrogen peroxide that caused the 1955 sinking of the British submarine HMS Sidon, in which 13 men died. The accident prompted Britain and other nations to stop using the chemical, but the Soviet and later Russian navy has used such torpedoes since 1957.

Russian officials said the Kursk's practice torpedo had an experimental battery, but was otherwise standard. They denied the claim by some Kursk sailors' relatives and Russian media that the submarine crew had previously reported trouble with the torpedo to their superiors.

A World War Two mine and a collision with a NATO submarine were among the other possible explanations for the tragedy.

But Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov told the same news conference that what appeared to be evidence of a foreign presence in the Arctic waters off Russia's Kola peninsula at the time of the accident was more likely to be jellyfish.

"You will ask me: what about the buoy of that alleged foreign submarine seen approaching by eye-witnesses? That could be big jellyfish which colonize the Barents Sea at that time of year," Ustinov said.

"There is no information whatsoever about another vessel being around," he said.

The examination of the wreck has, however, produced no conclusive explanation of what triggered the blast. Ustinov said the final verdict would be made in mid-2002 when the Kursk's mangled torpedo bay is brought to the surface.

Ustinov, whose early report into the accident had led to the sacking of the Northern Fleet's top commanders for "shortcomings in preparing the naval exercises" during which the Kursk sank, said order and discipline were in short supply in the fleet.

"There was this sense of sloppiness, that many things were not done properly," he said.

He cited the failure of officers to insist on repairs on the submarine's emergency buoy, and the cew failing to turn on the emergency intercom during maneuvers.

On Monday, President Vladimir Putin demoted Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who was in charge of the Kursk's rescue operation and probe, to industry and technology minister. Klebanov oversaw industry in his previous capacity, and the Kremlin said the move was intended to help him concentrate on this sector.

Foreign contractors lifted the Kursk from 340 feet of water last year, making good Putin's emotional promise to grief-stricken relatives to hand them the remains of their loved ones for burial.

Investigators have retrieved the remains of 94 of the Kursk's 118 crewmen, 91 of which have been identified.

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