Firefighters have reportedly put out a blaze on a Russian nuclear submarine which was undergoing repairs at a northern shipyard.

The state-owned management said there were no weapons on board and the vessel’s nuclear reactor had been shut down before the fire took hold.

The corporation said there was no threat of environmental or radioactive contamination.

The dry dock at the Zvyozdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk was flooded with water to partially submerge the submarine and help put out the fire.

It is said to have started near the stern during welding work that caused insulation materials to be set alight.

Russia’s nuclear submarine fleet has been involved in a series of accidents in recent years, and the authorities accused of hiding information.

In the worst disaster, in 2000, a nuclear submarine in the Murmansk region sank with the loss of 118 lives. The navy was criticised by Russia’s political leaders for hiding information.

In September 2013 a fire at Vladivostock