The deal of the century is coming - sale of the cruiser "Ukraine"

The cruiser "Ukraine" will be demilitarized. This decision was taken by President Poroshenko, and this was announced by the first deputy chairman of the Mykolaiv regional administration, Vyacheslav Bonh, during a meeting with employees of the shipyard named after 61 communards.

Why did Bonh came to the factory?

This visit to the enterprise was not timed to a holiday. The big regional chief arrived at the shipyard in order to calm the collective, indignant at the large arrears in wages. Bon said a whole speech, from which it was clear that there was no money, but he now knows where they can be taken. It is necessary to sell a cruiser long standing near the mooring wall of the plant. But first it has to be demilitarized, that is, to bring the ship into a condition unsuitable for its intended use. They'll buy it. Somebody is surely needed for the hull and turbines, and for them you can get an amount four times higher than the wage arrears. In such words, Vyacheslav Bon comforted the workers of the Nikolayevsky Ship Repair Plant. It could be said more simply: the cruiser "Ukraine" will be sold, and the state will pay for the salary, but set off into lengthy explanations, revealing the details of the probable deal, which indirectly gives out its own disbelief in the possibility of its imminent realization. Can I quickly find a buyer for an unfinished, but disarmed warship? How much can you get for him? What is the demilitarization of the cruiser and should it be carried out?

What is the demilitarization of military equipment?

The cruiser is a powerful naval unit. At the present stage, the boundary between the classes of warships is gradually blurred, and it happens that the destroyer has the same or even greater displacement, corresponding not to the third or second, but to the first rank. But still the very term "cruiser" already assumes that this is a large military ship with excellent driving qualities and it is very seriously armed. The requirements inherent in its construction are very specific. Predatory, impetuous contours do not imply any other use, except military. A cruiser can not be altered into a passenger liner, a tanker or a dry cargo ship. "State" vessels require not only speed or a maneuver, but also an internal volume. Economical, however, is needed in any case, albeit for different purposes. In military seamen, it defines autonomy, that is, the range of a march without refueling, and "merchants" simply consider the cost of transportation. In general, a demilitarized warship is roughly the same as hypothetical non-alcoholic vodka, unable to intoxicate, but very tasteless.

History of the ship

The cruiser "Ukraine" is a real legend of the naval forces of the country. It's a symbol. Such ships were built and launched into four, and all together they represent a series (the project 1164, the same "Atlant"). The first three units are in the combat composition of the Russian Navy, one in three fleets (North, Pacific and Black Sea) and are named respectively "Marshal Ustinov", "Varyag" and "Moscow". The fourth copy, the youngest, and therefore the most modern, went to the division of the Black Sea Fleet to Ukraine. This decision can be considered fully justified in the situation that prevailed at that time. Although in 1992 it was decided to share the common former Soviet fleet, but the process of creating national NMSs began. The possession of a missile cruiser, at least one - is a sign of status. If anything, then you can threaten. Say, you're there, do not spoil it, or we have a missile cruiser. And the commander on it is decisive.

Commander: first, he is the last

Sergei Nastenko, unlike many Soviet naval officers, accepted the idea of Ukrainian independence right away and with all his heart. He understood that the young country needed its naval forces, and did everything for their creation. Without waiting until Yeltsin agreed with Kravchuk or Kuchma about the division of the Black Sea Fleet, he decided to act independently, on the principle of "grab and run." Nastenko, then the captain-lieutenant, was the first to pick up on the flagpole the proud blue-yellow flag of his young new motherland on the mast of the watchman, a ship of the IV rank of SKR-112, and led him from Crimea to Odessa.

Nobody knew what to do with the slave. Do not sink this vessel? At that time, in 1992, such a sentence would sound crazy. And now Nastenko, who has already received three large stars of the captain of the I rank of the VMSU, was appointed commander of a formidable but unfinished (just a quarter) cruiser. The old name "Admiral Lobov" immediately sawed, and on the board appeared new letters that make up the word "Ukraine".

95% readiness

The ship had been in vain for a long time at the repair wall, since it required a lot of money for its completion, and they, as always, had better application. The breakthrough happened in 1998, at the end of the first term of Kuchma's presidency. Someone, and perhaps even Leonid Danilovich himself, seemed effective with the slogan "to raise" or finish building Ukraine, and in both hypostases, both state and ship. Spent several million, brought to 95% readiness, but then again something prevented. In the general defense doctrine of the country the cruiser did not fit. The content of five hundred sailors in itself is expensive, but it's a trifle, given that we also need hikes and current exploitation. And firing, and fuel, and provisions, and fresh water. In general, it's not for nothing that one politician suggested that a hostile country be presented with a cruiser. In war it will not help, in peacetime it will ruin. The crew was dismissed. Nastenko left himself and became a businessman.

"White elephant"

Any car enthusiast knows that there is no better way to ruin a car than to put it for a long time in a warm garage. With ships even easier: they rust and open-air. The fact that in 1998 it was possible to consider 95% of readiness, in almost two decades has turned almost completely unfit. But in this form the ship is not easy to save. We are not talking about some fighting qualities, the ability to launch a power plant or simply to move from one place to another, but to maintain buoyancy. If the plant were not monitored for the condition of the hull, did not crank mechanisms from time to time, did not apply lubricant (it is better not to remember the paint in this case), then Ukraine would simply lay on the ground. But also such service in an economy-mode too demands expenses. The plant "61 communards" owed for electricity, water and other services, and for the employees on wages, of course. Meanwhile, the company is not paying the Ministry of Defense. It "stuck" at $ 2 million (as of the end of 2016).

And who is the cruiser?

They wanted to get rid of the cruiser for a long time. It was offered to many countries, but nobody wants to buy this valuable case with turbines. All weapons systems are designed for Russian suppliers, but this is not the main thing. If the "Ukraine" acquired, for example, India, then Delhi and Moscow, probably, would have agreed. The fact is that all potential buyers understand the desire of Kiev to get rid of this toxic, that is, bringing a loss, the asset. "White elephant" can not be sold dearly. In the "pre-war" time it was from Russia to take into account the residual value of the cruiser in gas calculations, but it did not grow together. Then the Minister of Defense Serdyukov proposed to take the ship for nothing, and then in the form of a big favor. There were no other ideas until March 26.

Possible revenue

Apparently, the urgency of the problem will dictate the simplest solution, namely the sale of the cruiser "Ukraine" at the price of scrap metal. Experience in such transactions already exists, and the current situation determines the price of "ship iron" in the range from $ 200 to $ 350 per ton, depending on the saturation of the hull with non-ferrous metals (mainly copper) to be recycled. The main "cemeteries" of ships, by the way, are in India, and the way there is not close and also costs money. At the displacement of the ships of the project 1164 in 11.5 thousand tons (in fact, it will be less, because the armament will be cut off) and at the best price it will turn out that more than $ 4 million "gross" will not work out in any way. Well, yes, the workers will pay enough, and still have to pay for the light. But not four times, and not three. And, probably, not even two.

It's all? No, not everything. The most interesting thing is that Ukraine plans to buy some sort of decommissioned ships from its NATO countries for its Navy.