Chinese media reported that on August 16, a fire broke out on the former Soviet heavy aircraft carrier Minsk, Project 1143, moored near Nantong on the Yangtze River.
The fire started at around 4 p.m. during dismantling work on some structures; firefighters’ attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, and on the night of August 17, the ship was already ablaze with bright flames.
Minsk was decommissioned from the Pacific Fleet in 1993, and at the end of 1995 was sold for scrap to South Korea and towed to Pohang, but in 1998 it was repurchased by a Chinese company and towed to Shenzhen, where it has been on display as the main attraction of the Minsk World amusement park since 2000.
The park changed hands several times and was closed in 2016 after a new investor converted the land for development.
In 2017, after some repairs, the Minsk was towed to Nantong, where it was supposed to be part of a new amusement park, a project that was never realized. As a result, the Minsk has been rusting in Nantong for the past seven years.
Apparently, the current fire will put an end to the ship’s history.
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