In February 2012, Russia's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, returned from a brief visit to Syria where it had showed the Russian flag in support of the Syrian regime. The three-month voyage was par for the course for the Russian carrier, but then things went awry: Kuznetsov lost propulsion on the way home and began drifting in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of France and Spain.

Russia apparently concealed the incident from the rest of world at the time, but the website gCaptain posted this video, taken from the Kuznetsov, showing the crew of the Russian Navy tug Nikolay Chiker struggling to take the carrier under tow. You can see the Chiker wallowing in heavy seas in front of the Kuznetsov, which then fires a line-carrying projectile (watch for the smoke trail) at the tug. Chiker's crew takes up the line and begins the towing process.

The two ships were 2,700 miles from home when the Kutznetsov broke down. It's unknown how long the carrier was without power. Oceangoing tugs such as the Chiker regularly accompany large Russian warships abroad, but keep a low profile on foreign visits.

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Kutznetsov has always been a problematic ship. Originally built in what is now Ukraine, the vessel was the part of the new generation of Soviet aircraft carriers. But following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia could not afford to properly maintain her for more than a decade. So, although it was completed in 1991, Kutznetsov has completed only six overseas patrols, and the Syrian visit was not the first troublesome one. In 2009, off the coast of Turkey, a problem with the electrical system led to a fire that killed one crewman. A month later, an attempt to refuel the ship at sea led to a giant oil slick off the coast of Ireland.

There have also been enduring problems with her steam boilers, which were likely the cause of the breakdown in the Bay of Biscay. Plans to upgrade the carrier have been announced several times, but each time have been put off, likely due to the cost and the amount of time Russia's only carrier would be stuck in the shipyard. Kuznetsov is to remain on active duty until 2030, when replacement flat-tops are planned.

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