Russian Navy corvette suffers fire during construction

A Russian Navy vessel suffered significant damage after a fire broke out on board as it was undergoing construction in Saint Petersburg on Friday, December 17.

The Project 20385 or Gremyashchiy-class corvette Provornyy was being fitted out at United Shipbuilding Corporation’s (USC) Severnaya Verf facilities when a blaze ignited in an undisclosed area of the ship and quickly spread across the deck on the evening (local time) of Friday.

Firefighting and rescue teams rushed to the scene to attempt to put out the blaze and to evacuate any shipyard personnel.

Three dock workers were reportedly injured. Two of them were later brought to hospital.

The fire was subsequently extinguished. However, reports claim the superstructure and a large portion of the deck need to be dismantled before construction of the vessel could resume.

The corvette suffered damage estimated to be worth the equivalent of US$297 million.

The future Provornyy is the second Gremyashchiy-class corvette. It was originally scheduled to be commissioned in late 2022.