While docked? I'd always heard fire on a sub was a particularly scary scenario but I don't think the tale-spinners quite had this in mind... .
According to the book "Big Red" that describes a tour aboard the U.S.S. Nebraska, an American SSBN, fires are common aboard submarines (electrical mainly) while leaks of course are pretty rare.
I would venture to say the sub is toast. That much heat by the hull will have altered the steel making it unsafe for sub ops. BTW, fires are not common on subs. They do drill a whole lot, but actual fires are rare.
Russian nuclear accidents aboard submarines are far, far worse. What was that Soviet submarine "K-19" that some called "the Widowmaker"? According to the book "Blind Man's Bluff", the Soviets called it "Hiroshima".
You're probably right but I've read speculation elsewhere that the Russians use lots of double hull designs on their boats and, as long as the pressure hull wasn't affected, the outer hull could be patched/repaired.
Knowing the Russians, they'll simply limit it to cruising no more than 20 feet underwater and keep it in service.
You know. Georgia. A Southern state in the US, and a former Soviet country on the southern border of Russia. Georgia! Git it?
Unfortunate for the Russians, the K-84 Ekaterinburg is one of more modern SSBN in the Russian Fleet, a Delta IV/Delfin. Naturally, the Russians deny the fire will affect the boats "combat effectiveness", but fire damaged submarines are a recipie for disaster for obvious reasons.
