AP News, February 6th, 2007
A Cold War-era Soviet submarine that was being towed to Thailand sank off northwestern Denmark, Danish officials said Tuesday.
There were no people or weapons on board the Whiskey-class submarine when it sank Monday in an area known as Jysk Reef, about 34 miles off the coast of the Jutland peninsula, the Danish navy said.
A tug boat was towing the vessel when it started taking in water, forcing the crew to cut it loose for their own safety, navy spokesman Klaus Randrup Rasmussen said. There was no risk of pollution because the submarine was not carrying any fuel, weapons or other hazardous material, he added.
The Royal Danish Administration of Navigation and Hydrography issued a warning to other ships in the area because the depth of the wreck was not known.
"It is in an area with a lot of shipping and fishing and cannot be left on the bottom," said Michael Skov, an agency spokesman.
It was not immediately clear where the submarine was coming from. Skov said it was being towed to Thailand, and that the Thai owner was planning to salvage it.
The Soviet Union built more than 200 Whiskey-class submarines during the Cold War, many of which are now being offered for sale by private companies.
In Thailand, the owner of the Jesada Technik Museum in Nakhon Pathom Province told the Bangkok Post last month that he had bought a Russian Whiskey-class submarine for the museum. Danish authorities could not confirm whether that was the vessel that sank Monday.
