Head of major Russian shipyard dies suddenly, no cause given

Submarine Volkhov is seen before diving into the water at Admiralty Shipyard in St. Petersburg, Russia, Dec. 26, 2019. (Photo by Irina Motina/Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/ via Getty Images)

A major Russian shipyard that specializes in building non-nuclear submarines said its general director had died suddenly on Saturday after 11 years in the job, but gave no details.

Admiralty Shipyards, based in the western port of St Petersburg, announced the death of Alexander Buzakov in a statement. He had been in the job since August 2012.

His main achievement, it said, had been preserving and strengthening the shipyard's order books for modern non-nuclear submarines, surface ships and deep water vehicles.

Tass news agency said the shipyard is building improved Kilo-class diesel-powered submarines capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles.

In April, Moscow said it had used a diesel submarine in the Black Sea to strike Ukrainian military targets with Kalibrs.

The shipyard said Buzakov graduated in 1980 and had more than 40 years of experience, indicating he had been in his mid-sixties when he died. St Petersburg is the home city of President Vladimir Putin.

Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Daniel Wallis