Captain of jinxed sub to swim Loch Ness

Friday, 8 July 2011 A former commander of the K-19 nuclear submarine has decided to swim the width of Scotland's Loch Ness as a way to mark the 50th anniversary of an accident aboard the Russian vessel. Captain Oleg Adamov, who led the first-generation nuclear submarine between 1997 and 2001, has arrived in Scotland for his attempt to swim the width of Loch Ness in record time. The 2.7 kilometre open water swim takes place on 10 July - 50 years after the K-19 suffered a loss of coolant accident and eight crew sacrificed their lives to fashion an ad-hoc cooling loop. The story of the accident was made into the 2002 Hollywood movie, 'K-19: The Widowmaker', starring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson. The ship was launched in 1961 and, despite the nuclear accident, continued to be used by the Soviet navy until 1990. However, the K-19's history was marred by further accidents, including a collision with a US sub and a fire that killed a total of 56 men. K-19 was eventually scrapped in 2003. The brave Captain will swim alongside former nuclear submariners from both Russia and the UK, while lifeboat crews will be on hand.