Threat Axis Log

Krazy Ivan’s Discount Submarine Sales

Originally uploaded by Greg Easton Photography

Sitting tied to a pier in Providence Rhode Island – is a ex-Soviet “Juliett” class cruise missile submarine – waiting to either be restored or stripped in preparation to be scrapped.

This sub has had a interesting post-Cold War history. It was originally acquired by a Finish businessman in 1993 to be used as a off-beat restaurant/bar and tourist attraction in Helsinki. This attempt did not generate the $$$ that the promoter had hoped for – so in 1998 the boat was leased to a Canadian promoter who wanted to set the boat up as a tourist attraction in Tampa Bay Florida. The intended location did not have the depth needed to moor the Juliett – so it was moved to a more remote location. Lack of business caused the Canadian promoter to declare bankruptcy and the ownership of the sub reverted to the original Finnish owner.

But he didn’t want the submarine back and tried to sell it on Ebay for $1 million dollars. No takers. The submarine ended up being chartered for use in the filming of the Harrison Ford movie “K-19: The Widowmaker” and was towed to Nova Scotia, Canada.

In 2002 – the submarine was purchased by the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation and towed from Nova Scotia to Providence Rhode Island, and was on display there from August 2002 until April 2007 when it sunk in a storm (while tied to the pier).

Between June 2008 and August 2008 – US Navy salvage divers brought the submarine back to the surface after it had been on the bottom for over a year. An evaluation of the interior after its time on the bottom – showed that enough damage had been done such that another restoration was not a “financially viable option for the group”. The group announced in December (2008) that they would sell the submarine off to someone who had the resources to restore it – and if that failed – the submarine would be stripped of any historically significant materials – and then taken away for scrap in January 2009.

But – as this picture of the submarine tied up in July 2009 shows – that the submarine has yet to be scrapped. It is unclear where the process stands. Either there is someone out there who has bid on it – or the scrapper is just keeping it there until they have time to work on it.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 19:00 UTC and is filed under History, Sea. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.