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Long Beach faces a costly dilemma over the abandoned Soviet-era B-427 attack submarine that has been deteriorating since 2015. The city needs to remove the rusting vessel, which was once a tourist attraction but is now an eyesore, with estimates ranging from $8.6 million to nearly $22 million depending on whether it's moved by land or water. City officials are seeking contractor information for disposal logistics and costs, as ownership of the submarine is unclear following the dissolution of its last known owner in 2020.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Long Beach, California faces a potential multimillion-dollar bill for removing an abandoned Soviet-era B-427 submarine that has been rotting along the city's waterfront since 2015. The vessel, which was launched in 1971 and decommissioned in 1994, had served as a tourist attraction from 1998 to 2015, drawing nearly 8,000 tourists monthly during peak summer months. However, after the lease expired and Ed Skowron purchased it for $970,000, it was abandoned without proper maintenance or removal, posing a safety risk and environmental hazard. City officials are now seeking contractor bids to dismantle and dispose of the deteriorating submarine, which could cost millions more than its purchase price.
Written for “Abandoned Cold War Relic Decline” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 13815 · logged 2026-09-16
A California city could be on the hook for a multimillion-dollar bill in order to finally get rid of a rusting Cold War relic that has been rotting for more than a decade.
uncertain
that → rid → decade
City officials are now seeking information from contractors on how to haul away the deteriorating 299-foot vessel, including the logistics and eye-watering cost of sending it to a disposal site.
asserted
officials → seek → site
The 299-foot-long B-427 attack submarine was launched by the Soviet navy in 1971, before it was decommissioned more than twenty years later in 1994, the Press Telegram reported.
asserted
Telegram → launch → 1994
It was then leased by an Australian company and opened as an attraction at the Australian National Maritime Museum, before finally making its way to Long Beach after Ed Skowron purchased it for $970,000.
asserted
Skowron → lease → 970,000
Between 1998 and 2015, nearly 8,000 tourists a month would check out the Soviet Union-era sub during peak summer months as it sat alongside the 1930’s luxury liner.
asserted
it → check → liner
For 17 years, visitors got the chance to take a look inside the vessel that once tracked enemies in the Pacific Ocean as part of Russia’s Pacific Fleet.
asserted
that → get → Fleet
In 2015, a water hull ruptured and flooded a ballast tank, forcing the closure of the vessel to the public, with it eventually becoming a home for racoons.
asserted
it → rupture → racoons
Since that time, the sub has slowly been deteriorating with rust and holes forming on the outer layer, as saltwater and storms aided the process.
asserted
saltwater → deteriorate → process
“In the interest of safety, water quality, and to mitigate any risk of damage to the Queen Mary, the vessel has been identified by the City as an abandoned asset for removal, pending any future legal or administrative actions required for its removal,” wrote Public Works spokesperson Jocelin Padilla.
asserted
Padilla → mitigate → removal
“However, further analysis has to be conducted to determine the most appropriate course of action, taking into account safety, risk, impacts, and costs.
asserted
analysis → have → safety
”
While the city doesn’t own the sub, exactly who does is unclear with the most recent owner Australia-based NEWCO Pty Ltd. dissolving in 2020.
uncertain
owner → own → 2020
The question next is how to do it, either by land or water.
asserted
question → do → land
Previous estimates put the cost anywhere from $8.6 million for land removal up to nearly $22 million for waterside removal, a local publication reported.
asserted
publication → put → removal
Ralph Botticelli with Curtin Maritime Corp., a marine construction and salvage company, said the issue is preventing polluting the water with hazardous material.
asserted
issue → say → material
He said several factors have to be considered whether crews take it out with a towline or lift it out with a crane, including the sub’s asbestos piping, batteries and the thickness of the steel.
asserted
crews → say → steel
“There’s no rule of thumb,” Botticeilli said.
asserted
Botticeilli → ’ → thumb
“It’s just what is deemed appropriate at the time and most cost-effective and most safe.”
asserted
what → ’ → time
“Thirty years in this business and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
asserted
I → see → this
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