Georgia: Russian Vessel Tows Submarine from Abkhazia's Coast

A Russian submarine that sent a distress signal off the Black Sea coast of the breakaway region of Abkhazia has been hauled to safety in the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

The Alrosa, reportedly the only operative diesel-electric submarine in Russia's Black Sea fleet, broke down early on November 21 as it was preparing to participate in military exercises off Abkhazia, where Russia has deployed thousands of troops. The submarine's 52-men crew managed to bring the vessel to the surface about 150 kilometers from the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi, the Russian daily Kommersant reported.

Russian military officials described the sub's problem as minor, but added that the vessel could not make it to its home port, Sevastopol, on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. It was towed to the nearer port of Novorossiysk on November 23, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. Made in 1988, the sub had a role in a 1997 Jackie Chan film, the Kommersant daily reported.