MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russian rescuers had advanced equipment capable of freeing the submersible that was trapped on the Pacific seabed last week, but broke it due to their incompetence, a Russian fleet admiral said.
Admiral Masorin who is a potential candidate to replace Russian Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, said, "We are just ashamed that we did not use [the equipment] we had."
He added that after the Kursk submarine sank in the Barents Sea in 2000 leaving the entire crew of 118 dead, the most advanced equipment available was purchased for the fleet.
Masorin said the Russian Navy had equipment superior to the Scorpio mini-submarine. The Scorpio remote-controlled deep-water vessel that the British rescuers used to cut free the Russian submersible last week was built in 1986, whereas the Scorpios that the Russian navy had bought were made in 2000, he said.
