Beacause it is a steam turbine engined cruiser. The burners need some attention!

see *** Wikipedia ***

Apparently it's a bit old and flaky  (1985) and has to have it's own tug in the support group in case it breaks down.

John

Edited By Journeyman on 22/10/2016 13:21:15

Built in smoke screen…

The Daily Telegraph says that it has to be accompanied by a break-down tug because the steam turbines and boilers are so unreliable. Wikipedia mentions that it has twice in the past anchored for some time in international waters off Scotland for repairs.

The Telegraph says there are such things as unlucky ships.

JA

Obviously exempt from the EU low sulphur burning fuels???

They aren't as sophisticated as they'd like to project to the public, That's all part of their marketing. Most of the time these things are rusting hulks sat in harbour and can't be used readily. It's set piece theatre designed to frighten.

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 22/10/2016 15:56:34

A Few years ago the same flotilla of ships passed close to the Drilling Rig I was working on North of Shetland, she looked very impressive but was also showing the tell tale plume of black smoke that you are saying she displayed while passing through the channel. I would have thought the russians would have heard abut oil firing by now.

I worked with an ex-Naval Officer who told me this story, swearing he was there when it happened. During a heavily monitored NATO exercise his CO used the ship's helicopter to drop a parcel on to the deck of a Russian 'trawler' that came too close. The parcel contained a block of ice cream and the message "In aid of the Cold War".

I've always wondered if this was true. Military men of all ranks enjoy pulling the legs of gullible civvies.

Dave

A trawler is a bit smaller than the GCHQ building or the one NSA lives in. Maybe they beam it all to somewhere bigger.

Personally I think we here a lot of things about Russia in areas like this that tend to be propaganda. Backwards, hopeless etc but there are is enough facts about that should make people wonder.

John

–

John,

If you are close by, you may pick up spurious signals that leak out, or sidelobes from a directional aerial,and which are undetectable from further afield, like the white van parked outside your house, monitoring your tv channels or W-Fi connections, or the phone calls you make on your cordless phone…

Geoff

Well said. As for the black exhaust, what would be the cause of that? Poor maintenance?

Just for interest– what would be the normal/ best route for the Russians to take to the Med. ?