On July 19, the multi-purpose vessel Mayo arrived at the Arcticport of Kirkenes. On the eve of this arrival, Norwegian rescue workershad prepared for operations for raising the Kursk submarine from thebottom of the Barents Sea.

Igor Dygalo, aide to the Navy's Commander-in-Chief, announcedthat no unexploded weapons have been found around the firstcompartment. This means there are no obstacles to the start of theoperation.

The Mayo has brought the cutting equipment to separate the firstcompartment from the rest of the hull.

Alexander Nikitin, from the Norwegian environmental groupBellona, says it is not known as yet if Norwegian divers will go towhere the Kursk sank at all, nor whether they have signed thecorresponding contract with the Russian side already.

Nikitin says: "We have no grounds to doubt the officialinformation on the salvage of the Kursk and the data from monitoringof the radiation levels. But we doubt the competence of the Mammoethcompany, since we have failed to find any information about thiscompany even on the Internet. What they are saying about themselves islikely to be a lie."