Military 'not interested' in Soviet sub wreck
Published: 3 Mar 11 14:12 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Updated: 3 Mar 11 11:34 CET
Online:
http://www.thelocal.se/32386/20110303/
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A dispute has broken out over whether or not the wreck of a suspected
Soviet-era submarine found near the Baltic island of Gotland deserves
further investigation.
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According to the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvaret), there is no need to
further examine the wreck, which was found off the coast of Gotland in the
summer of 2009.
But former Supreme Commander Bengt Gustafsson believes the wreck could shed
new light on Soviet submarine activity in Swedish waters in the 1980s.
Ola Oskarsson, CEO at marine survey company Marin Mätteknik (MMT), which
located the wreck, is also surprised by the Armed Forces' lack of interest
in the sunken submarine.
"I dont understand what the Armed Forces is thinking, but maybe they know
more than they want to admit to. But it's not possible to draw an
conclusions from what's seen on the outer service," he told the TT news
agency.
The wreckage was found by MMT two years ago and has since been examined by
the company during several diving operations.
However, it remains unclear exactly why the vessel sank and the Swedish
military is in no rush to investigate it further, according to Sveriges
Radio (SR).
Bo Rask, chief of staff at the Naval Tactical Command, argued that the Armed
Forces has learned enough about the wreck just from looking at the pictures
taken by MMT.
We can see it hasnt sunk because of any damage from a weapon, which is all
we need to know, he TT.
Oskarsson disagrees, however, telling TT the pictures are inconclusive.
"A submarine has two surfaces, one external and one inner one. A depth
charge wouldnt affect the external layer, which means you wouldnt be able
to see the damage from outside," he said.
While the pictures taken by MMT aren't enough to confirm the vessel's
identity, it appears the wreck is of a 76 meter so-called Whiskey-class
submarine, a model common in the Soviet Union's Cold War fleet and often
mentioned in the context of Swedish submarine hunts conducted in the 1980s.
Rask told TT that the Swedish Armed Forces will look into the wreckage
eventually.
But there is no hurry, we know of many abandoned submarines along the
Swedish coastline, he said.
One theory is that the wreck may be that of a submarine discovered near the
island of Utö in the Stockholm archipelago in 1981 and attacked by the
Swedish destroyer Halland.
It was one of the first of many incidents involving suspected submarine
intrusions into Swedish waters in the 1980s.
"It's hard to say. I found a submarine from 1914 that I thought was 50 years
old. but I think this one has been lying there since the 1970s or 1980s,"
said Oskarsson.
TT/The Local (
news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)
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