Sub museum considered for Portland waterfront Hollywood production firm to deliver Russian vessel

PORTLAND – A former Russian submarine currently owned by a Hollywood production company may become a museum along Portland’s waterfront.

The makers of “K19: The Widowmaker,” an upcoming film starring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, are preparing to move the 387-foot vessel from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Portland, officials say.

If all goes according to plan, Sub Maine Inc. will convert the submarine into a tourist attraction. But the investment group still needs to find a permanent berth for the Juliett-class vessel in Portland.

The move from Halifax to a temporary location in Portland could occur within a couple of weeks, provided the submarine’s current owners can meet Coast Guard requirements, said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Wyman Briggs.

Briggs said the hull must be surveyed to make certain it is structurally sound. He added that the submarine, designed to carry nuclear ballistic missiles, must be free of radioactive material, and its hull must be inspected for foreign microorganisms.

“Our chief concern right now is that it’s seaworthy,” Briggs said. “They’ll be coming to Portland as soon as they’ve satisfied our concerns.”

Jeff Monroe, Portland’s transportation director, called the project an “exciting opportunity.”

Bath had sought to bring the sub to that city’s waterfront, but City Manager John Bubier’s proposal came under fire.

Bubier said the submarine, a warship that lurked off the coast of the northeastern United States during the Cold War, could have brought 40,000 visitors to the city.

But Robert Webb, curator of the Maine Maritime Museum, suggested that the submarine was of dubious historical value.

“The proposed relic is not even an intact historical unit, having been lengthened and reconstructed as a ‘prop’ for a Hollywood movie,” he wrote in a letter to the Times Record.

Earlier, Thomas Winek of Bronx, N.Y., wrote: “Please bring something more attractive for tourists instead of junk subs.”

For now, Sub Maine Inc. has asked Portland officials for permission to dock the submarine at the former Bath Iron Works facility on Commercial Street while it is converted.

Sub Maine Inc. would have only until May to finish the conversion work, since the city of Portland uses the BIW site during cruise season.

Monroe said that several privately owned properties could be used as a permanent berth for the submarine.

But Monroe said that Sub Maine Inc. has not shown its financial capabilities, nor has the group presented the city with a business plan. The city’s Planning Board will also review the project to ensure it conforms with waterfront zoning regulations.