The story of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov is full of bad luck. It started with her name, which was changed four times during seven years of construction at Mykolaiv shipyard in Ukraine from 1982 to 1989.
In November 1991, Ukraine became an independent state, and ownership of the carrier became an issue. She was “hijacked” by Russia, despite a direct message to the ship’s commanding officer from Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk to stay in Sevastopol. Less than a month later, the Kuznetsov arrived at Murmansk harbor in the Barents Sea.1
During almost three decades in service to the Russian Navy, the Kuznetsov made only a few short deployments to the Mediterranean and Atlantic, spending most of her service time in shipyards for repairs. Her average seagoing time was around 15 days per year.
At the end of 2016, during her last deployment to Syria, two combat aircraft from her air wing crashed when attempting to land back on deck.2 She returned home belching black smoke.
In early 2017, the Kuznetsov was scheduled for repair and modernization. On 30 October 2018, during the ongoing repairs, “a power supply disruption caused the pumps supporting the massive 80,000-ton [PD-50 dry dock] to break down.”3 A 70-ton crane from the 330-meter floating dry dock fell, damaging the carrier’s flight deck. The dock sank, and the ship was moved to another shipyard.
On 12 December 2019, a major fire broke out on board the Kuznetsov during welding operations. Damage assessment took several months, and overall repairs were extended by at least a year. The damage was estimated by one source
at 95 billion rubles (roughly US $1.5 billion at the time).4 In June 2020, a bridge on the only railroad line linking Murmansk to the rest of the country collapsed, delaying heavy equipment.
But it seems the modernization of the Kuznetsov may cost more and take even longer. In March 2021, the general director of the shipyard contracted to carry out her refit was arrested. He was suspected of embezzling about 45 million rubles (roughly US $650,000) allocated for work on the carrier.5
Despite assurances, the return to combat of the Kuznetsov in 2023 looks doubtful. The cost of the war in Ukraine and related sanctions could be another blow to the Russian carrier. So, it seems the bad luck of the Kuznetsov is ongoing.
2. Kyle Mizokami, “Russia’s Sad, Smokey Aircraft Carrier Loses Second Fighter in Two Weeks,” Popular Mechanics, 5 December 2016.
3. Ryan Pickrell, “A Devastating Shipyard Accident Appears to Have Sunk Russia’s Efforts to Save Its Sole Aircraft Carrier,” Business Insider, 9 November 2018.
4. Michael Peck, “The Repair Bill for Russia’s Aircraft Carrier: $1.5 Billion?” The National Interest, 28 December 2019.
5. “Director of the 35th Shipyard of the Zvyozdochka TS, Where the Admiral Kuznetsov Is Being Repaired, Was Arrested,” 2 July 2021, Maritime News of Russia, www.morvesti.ru/news/1679/90382/.
