Posted on 02/07/2025 6:37:31 PM PST by Apparatchik
A Russian intelligence-gathering vessel caught fire and temporarily lost control off the Syrian coast on Janaury 23, according to Associated Press (AP). The Kildin, a Russian spy ship equipped with surveillance technology, was seen emitting black smoke and flames as it drifted, prompting an urgent maritime radio warning to nearby vessels.
The Associated Press obtained audio of the broadcast, as well as video and photographs of the incident.
“Warship on your course,” the Russian Captain said. “I am drifting. I’m not under command.”
The videos, taken by three NATO military officials, were collected by a nearby NATO vessel. These officials spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the fire and radio transmission, which Russian authorities have not publicly acknowledged.
The incident provides insight into Russia’s fleet of spy ships, which NATO allies have closely monitored due to concerns over potential sabotage of undersea cables and pipelines amid ongoing war in Ukraine. Despite its apparent distress, the Kildin did not respond to an offer of assistance from a NATO ship, the officials said.
The 55-year-old Kildin, responsible for gathering intelligence on NATO activities in the Mediterranean, had been operating near naval exercises conducted by alliance member Turkey before the fire broke out. According to officials, the blaze lasted for at least four hours, during which the crew uncovered lifeboats but did not deploy them.
It's hard to subdue a country when Biden has sent 183 Billion to Ukie Land to further and increase the bloodshed.
A fact that Zeepers are too stupid to understand.
I guess the ship got tired of waiting for a drone attack so it attacked itself.
Regular maintenance programs have never really been a top priority in soviet/socialist countries. Also realistic end of service dates for equipment.
Russia has never been a real naval power. Subs are the only place they have any capacity, albeit at considerable human cost.
Surface fleet… the voyage of the Kamchatka (1905) sort of summarizes things.
I guess the ship got tired of waiting for a drone attack so it attacked itself.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
So many Russian ships sinking right now...
Let that sink in. :)
We’re going to need a bigger boat.
Russia’s beloved globalist network composed foremost of the IRAN-Russia-North Korea-China Alliance and their close friends: Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Belarus.. ALL communist nations! (let that sink in) are also in bed with Islamist Iran’s proxies : Hamas and Hezbollah.
Which makes Kremlin a terrorist organisation far more dangerous than Al Qaeda and ISIS combined. Why do I say that? Because the Kremlin is destroying its own people! They have already killed 1 Million Russian soldiers so far in only 3 years of war according to Trump’s data.
And now... Russia’s foreign minister LAVROV saying that Trump’s America First is behaving like a Nazi organization!
Russian foreign minister compares Trump’s ‘America First’ to Nazi propaganda
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/russian-foreign-minister-compares-trumps-america-first-to-nazi-propaganda/
Will the ship drift like the one in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge?
Or like the well done version of Frankenstein: The True Story (1973 made for TV movie). A ship drifting into the Arctic with the unconscious mad Dr. Frankenstein lashed to the wooden ship’s wheel. The lovely Jane Seymour was assembled from spare parts and ends up having her head pulled off. James Mason and David MacCallum also starred.
“Russia has never been a real naval power. Subs are the only place they have any capacity, albeit at considerable human cost.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>
True.
Maybe that’s why 30% of Russia’s Black Sea fleet have now become submarine-like vessels at the bottom of the Black Sea... :)
Its actually a sad hilarity.
The Russians uncovered their life boats and then did not use them. They drift along in the Western Mediterranean off the coast of Syria, doing what?
Waiting for the US Navy to rescue them?
Yep, we are gonna need a far bigger boat.
Must have hit a gas pipeline Susan Powers didn’t find to blow up first.
Yeah, warship fires only occur in hated navies, right? /s
Explosions/Fires
Damaged ship in water.
USS Solar (DE-221) following the explosion of forward magazine while at Naval Ammunition Depot, Earle, New Jersey, on 30 April 1946 (NHHC NH-104777).
30 April 1946—Solar (DE-221)
The destroyer escort Solar was destroyed in an ordnance accident and explosion at Naval Ammunition Depot, Earle, New Jersey, with seven killed and 30 injured.
7 October 1949—Chehalis (AOG-48)
Gasoline tanker Chehalis was sunk by fire and explosion at Tutuila, Samoa, suffering six killed.
21 April 1952—Saint Paul (CA-73)
During gunfire operations off North Korea, a powder blast in the forward turret of heavy cruiser Saint Paul killed 30 crew members.
18 July 1957—Somersworth (PCER-849)
An explosion aboard patrol ship Somersworth off Montauk Point, New York, killed three crew members and injured four.
12 August 1960—Exultant (MSO-441)
A flash fire in the engineering spaces of minesweeper Exultant off Savannah, Georgia, killed five crew members.
22 June 1967—Raleigh (LPD-1)
An engine room steam accident on amphibious transport dock Raleigh killed two crew members.
7 September 1968—Douglas H. Fox (DD-779)
While operating off Charleston, South Carolina, a fire aboard destroyer Douglas H. Fox killed two crew members and injured six.
28 June 1971—Trenton (LPD-14)
An engine room main guarding steam valve ruptured on amphibious transport dock Trenton, instantly killing four sailors and burning six others, two of whom later died.
1 October 1972—Newport News (CA-148)
While operating off Vietnam, a turret fire and explosion on heavy cruiser Newport News killed 20 crew members and injured 36 more.
30 October 1972—Florikan (ASR-9)
A fire in the forward hold of submarine rescue ship Florikan resulted in the death of one crew member.
3 February 1973—Basilone (DD-824)
While conducting underway training and a burial at sea off the Virginia Capes, a boiler explosion in the after fireroom of destroyer Basilone killed seven sailors and injured four more. (An event I was very aware of while in the engineering spaces of Basilone on my 1977 midshipman 3/C cruise in the Mediterranean).
9 April 1979—Manley (DD-940)
A fuel line rupture and fire on destroyer Manley resulted in one officer dying from burns and eight sailors suffering minor burns.
19 April 1989—Iowa (BB-61)
While conducting firing practice northeast of Puerto Rico, an explosion in the No. 2 16-inch gun turret of battleship Iowa killed 47 and injured 11. For more detail see H-Gram 029-4.
9 May 1989—White Plains (AFS-4)
While operating 100 miles east of Hong Kong, a fire in the engine room of combat stores ship White Plains killed six crew members.
8 May 1990—Conyngham (DDG-17)
A severe fuel fire in the forward boiler room of guided-missile destroyer Conyngham burned for 23 hours, killing one officer and injuring 18 sailors. The damage was bad enough that the ship was decommissioned and sold for scrap.
30 October 1990—Iwo Jima (LPH-2)
While taking part in amphibious landing exercises in the Arabian Sea in preparation for Operation Desert Storm, a steam valve ruptured on amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, killing 10 crew members.
22 February 1992—Dahlgren (DDG-43)
An engine room fire on guided-missile destroyer Dahlgren killed two crew members and injured four others.
19 October 2001—Inchon (MCS-12)
A boiler room oil fire on mine countermeasures ship Inchon killed one sailor and injured seven others. The sailor who died, Petty Officer Third Class Ronnie Palm was awarded a posthumous Navy and Marine Corps Medal for helping fellow sailors escape.
12 July 2020—Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6)
A fire was started by arson on the lower vehicle deck of amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard while she was undergoing major maintenance. The fire took four days to extinguish and injured at least 63 sailors and civilian firefighters. Repairs were estimated to cost up to $3.2 billion and take seven years, so the ship was decommissioned and sold for scrap (making this the most expensive peacetime disaster in U.S. Navy history).
That’s what Putin gets for sending a ship out on the open water without the usual tugboat escort.
Do you take over the evening shift from mucousmaximus?
Maybe not, but they had a great naval painter in the late 1800s, Ivan Aivazovsky:
Russia has a long, proud history of their ships bursting into flames. That's why they keep them in the water.
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