In 1989, more than 40-sailors died when a nuclear attack submarine sank off the northern coast of Norway after a fire on board. Ten-people were killed in 1985 when an explosion destroyed a ship repair facility. Another nuclear submarine was scuttled after catching fire off Russia's northern coast. Government investment in the nuclear fleet has sharply diminished during the past decade as defense budgets have been slashed. Most of Russia's warships are decaying in port.
Statistics show the size of the nuclear submarine fleet is one-third of what it was a decade ago.
The U-S, Japanese, and Norwegian governments are providing money to dismantle the unfit nuclear submarines and prevent leakage of radioactive materials. Defense experts also raise questions about the maintenance of ships still in service. It is still not entirely clear what happened to the Kursk. At first, officials said it had collided with another ship. On Tuesday, they said an explosion on board had caused the submarine to sink to the bottom of the sea.