According to Russian nuclear officials, the Lepse cargo ship, which was once the most visible nuclear menace in Murmansk seaport, will now be cleared of virtually all of its toxic cargo by the beginning of next year.
The Lepse gathered 639 spent nuclear fuel packages during its tenure as a refueling ship for Soviet-era nuclear icebreakers. Some of them were destroyed, causing an environmental hazard that floated untreated at the Murmansk port for years.
The Lepse was decommissioned in 1988 and was tossed aside at Atomflot, the home of Russia’s nuclear icebreaker line. It remained a serious radioactive threat to Murmansk…