Russian Submarine Safety Is Improving

Russia's navy has improved safety and rescue techniques since the sinking of the Kursk submarine in 2000.

Russia's navy has improved safety and rescue techniques since the sinking of the Kursk submarine in 2000 when 118 sailors died but more work needs to be done, the Northern Fleet commander said on Thursday.

The bungled Russian attempt to rescue submariners trapped in the Kursk for days at the bottom of the Barents Sea shocked Russia's public.

Since then the Russian navy has sought to show its rescue methods have improved but in 2005 it was once again forced to call on Britain for help in rescuing seven trapped submariners.

"There have been some problems, and there still are some, with carrying out rescue operations but a significant step forward has been made," Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky told reporters at the Northern Fleet's base in the closed city of Severomorsk deep inside the Arctic Circle.

Sailors wearing black navy uniforms walked round the sprawling base which is surrounded by rolling, snowy hills covered by pine forests.

Warships and docked submarines lined the banks of Severomorsk built in a natural bay off the Arctic Ocean. Check points ringed the city, still closed to the public, to prevent curious drivers from entering.

"We don't have an absolutely effective system of sea rescue in place but work is continuing and we are going forward," Vysotsky said.

In August 2005 a British team rescued seven Russian sailors trapped on a submarine in the Pacific. The Russian navy said they had called on the British because their equipment had been damaged by improper use.

Last summer a fire on board a Russian nuclear submarine the in Barents Sea killed two crew members.