Nikolaev Ukraine

Spy satellite image of Nikolaev's "Shipyard 444" in 1983. (KH-12, Lockheed)

The above photo is a leaked image of the nuclear aircraft carrier "Varyag", photographed in 1983 by a Lockheed KH-12 (Advanced Keyhole) spy satellite. It is docked and waiting to be dismantled. Despite Reagan's fear mongering propaganda, the Soviet military was slowly rotting away and not much of a threat. Whether we spent $1000 for a toilet seat or created a multi-billion dollar space laser that didn't work, the USSR would have died off anyway. There was not enough money in their failing economy to properly feed and train foot soldiers, much less maintain a fleet of expensive carriers. In the 80s their mega ships began hitting the chopping block and just a few years later, 1991 to be exact, the whole bloated mess of a failed political system imploded on auto pilot.

Nikolaev built (and later chopped up) many of the Soviet Union's nuclear aircraft carriers and as such the city was closed to foreigners until the late 1990s. The shipyard pictured here is not the one you see while walking in Nikolaev's city center. That is a smaller scale facility located just off the Bug River. For a view of the Varyag's former home you will have to travel across town.

Satellite image of "Shipyard 444" taken in 2006. (Google Earth)

The Varyag has since left Nikolaev's Shipyard-444, but where to? Moments before the first blowtorch nipped its 3 foot steel hull, Chinese businessmen arrived and made Ukrainian politicians an offer they couldn't refuse. 20 million bucks for a carrier that cost 2.1 billion to construct. Ukraine wanted to rid itself quickly of war machines so it could begin anew as a peace loving, anti-war society. Varyag would soon become a floating Chinese megacasino but only after spending $500 million to make it seaworthy and luxurious enough for the tastes of wealthy Japanese industrialists and high ranking Communist party officials.

That never actually happened. One of the original investors in the Varyag-Casino project was assassinated in Macau shortly after the ship reached port. Metamorphosing several hundred tons of rust into a casino was but a ruse! Who would have known? It turns out the Chinese Military seized the ship to beef up their navy, another small step in fulfilling a "20 year plan" that includes invading Taiwan.

Over the last three decades China has purchased several carriers, including one from Australia and another from Russia. As they methodically acquire, study and rebuild foreign naval vessels, a day will come when the Chinese will have the technical knowhow and industrial capacity to produce Nimitz class vessels. Its a waste of resources I reckon. By then America and its NATO allies will have advanced robotic vehicles and unmanned drones that will swarm and destroy hulking, slow moving carriers.

Google Maps View of "Shipyard 444"

Nikolaev's commercial shipyard. Non-military vessels are built here.