Russian submarine in Amsterdam has to go

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B-80

Even back in 2008 the Russian Foxtrot B-80 submarine that watches over Amsterdam North’s NDSM harbour was scheduled to be removed, but that never happened. The 90-meter-long submarine built in Riga in 1956 and brought to Amsterdam from Den Helder in 2002 for 56,000 euro by a local architect has been in the harbour since and now belongs to a Belgian company that has been served an ‘enforcement action’ to remove it.

Today, the submarine is considered to be a real risk because it is in poor condition. They were big plans for the B-80, from being a place for fashion shows, being turned into a presentation space and even becoming part of a ship museum, all ideas that fell in the water.

In 2009 the submarine was owned by a Turkish firm that wanted to tow it away in order to have it destroyed, but they were asked by the Dutch government to pay a hefty ‘deposit’ to guarantee that everything would go according to European regulations. The Turks didn’t want to pay the amount, something the Belgians tried to appeal in court as well, but lost. Now the Belgians have to tow it away, but we wonder how this is all going to be enforced.

And yes, the B-80 is a cool thing to look when you take the free ferry from Amsterdam Central Station and arrive 10 minutes later at the NDSM harbour.

(Link: parool.nl, Photo of Russian Foxtrot B-80 submarine by FaceMePLS, some rights reserved)

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