Divers begin Kursk recovery

Support ships are anchored near the accident site

MOSCOW, Russia -- Divers have descended to the bottom of the Barents Sea for the first time since the operation to raise the sunken submarine Kursk began, the Russian navy says.

The Kursk, which has two nuclear reactors aboard, sank during a training exercise in the Arctic waters off northern Russia last August, killing all 118 crewmen.

The first group of divers was lowered in a diving bell to the site of the wreck at 2100 GMT on Friday to stencil holes that will be cut into the submarine's hull, navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said.

A second group followed six hours later with cutting equipment and a third crew was to follow to begin the actual cutting.

VIDEO CNN's Jill Dougherty reports on the operation and environmental concerns (July 17) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   RESOURCES Animation: How the Kursk will be raised   (Web link courtesy of kursksalvage.com  -- External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive)   MORE STORIES Kursk salvage operation      IN-DEPTH Raising of the Kursk   • Russia's military plight   • Kursk namesake   • Comparative sizes   • Diagram: Last refuge   • Damage to the sub   • Timeline of sinking   • News search   • Message board   • Quick vote   • In-depth: Sub disaster   • Download salvage images     From kursksalvage.com   • Kursk salvage animation     From parallelgraphics.com     (External sites not endorsed by CNN)

Dygalo said in a statement: "The operation to raise the Kursk is going to plan."

The next part of the operation involves drilling holes in the hull and attaching steel cables to lift the vessel -- an operation tentatively set for September 15.

A special pontoon, 140 metres long and 36 metres wide (460 by 120 feet), will hoist the submarine on 26 cables to just below the sea's surface, when it will be towed to the Russian port of Murmansk.

Russia has contracted Dutch salvage company Mammoet and marine services firm Smit International to recover the Kursk.

The international team of 16 deep-sea divers -- from Great Britain, Russia and the United States -- will work around the clock to begin preparing the Russian nuclear submarine for salvage, a spokesman for the diving company told CNN.

Working in teams of three, the divers for DSND Subsea will work in six-hour shifts at a depth of 100 metres (330 feet) over the next few weeks.

The divers will use two diving bells to ferry between the Mayo, the Norwegian diving support ship charged with carrying out the diving operation, and the submarine.

Each diving bell will transport three divers. While three divers are in the open water working on the vessel, three other divers will remain ready to support them in case of trouble.

When they are not working, the divers will spend all of their time in special saturation chambers on board the Mayo pressurized to the depth they will be working at. Another nine divers -- not under pressure -- will remain on board the Mayo in reserve.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, strongly criticised at home for not cutting short his vacation at the time of the tragedy, has told relatives of the crew the Kursk will be raised this year at any cost.

Russian and Norwegian divers retrieved 12 bodies from the Kursk in November but their mission was called off because of rough weather and the danger from broken equipment inside the submarine.

Officials found a note in the pocket of one of the recovered submariners saying that 23 sailors had remained trapped alive in the ninth compartment for several hours after the Kursk sank.

Russia has maintained that no radiation has leaked from the wreck but says the two-month salvage operation is to ensure it poses no future danger.

Putin told journalists last week that Russia had an obligation to lift the Kursk to bring those remains home, determine the cause of the accident, and remove its two nuclear reactors from the Barents Sea.