Murmansk ran aground off Norway in 1994 while under tow to an Indian scrapyard and remained remarkably intact for years. Because the wreck could not be refloated safely, contractors built a breakwater and cofferdam around it, pumped the enclosure dry, and dismantled the cruiser in place between 2012 and 2013. Public concern initially focused on radioactivity associated with luminescent paint. The cited assessment judged the measured radioactive source too small to cause biological harm. Fuel, PCBs, asbestos, and other toxic materials posed the more substantial cleanup problem. Disposal planning, environmental risk, and public perception outlasted the warship's operational career by decades.
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Murmansk's Norwegian wreck became an engineering and pollution problem
After grounding off Norway en route to scrapping, Murmansk required a cofferdam demolition project and prompted debate over radioactive paint and more serious toxic materials.