He said Alexander Tatarinov, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, was also being talked about as a successor to Vladimir Kuroyedov, the current navy commander, who turns 61 on September 5. The president extended the latter's term beyond his official retirement date in 2004. Kuroyedov had been speaking about retiring before the August 4-7 incident involving a submersible that became trapped in fishing nets and cables at a depth of 190 meters in the Pacific Ocean.
Russian media resumed speculation about Kuroyedov, who is currently in a hospital, after the submersible's seven-man crew had been rescued with British help on Sunday.
"A considerable number of incidents in the Russian fleet are connected with a lack of financing and there is no sense of shifting a blame onto one man," the source said.
He said rumors about Kuroyedov's retirement had circulated when the Kursk nuclear submarine sank with the loss of all 118 crewmembers in 2000 after a torpedo exploded during a training exercise.
The source said Kuroyedov had taken charge of an under-funded navy and all the subsequent incidents had occurred because of this circumstance.
