LIEPAJA, Latvia -- Aleksejs Malahovs is currently struggling with what could be one of the most delicate problems in the history of shipping: The Russian Navy has left a sunken submarine blocking his wharf and he cannot get them to take it away."We lose money every day because we can't use that side of the berth," said Malahovs, who is director of a Latvian stevedoring company. "It is the Russian military's responsibility. We are going to get legal help from the port."The sunken submarine next to Malahovs' wharf is one of a whole flotilla of at least 12 sunken Russian naval vessels that port officials say foundered after being stripped of metal parts by looters, including Russian sailors. The vessels range from small patrol boats to large cruiser-class warships, and can be seen sticking up out of the oil-stained water in the Latvian port of Leipaja. Locals liken the scene to Tsushima, the site of a 1905 naval battle where Russia's fleet was blown out of the water in half an hour by Japan. The vessels were all left behind by the Russian Baltic Sea Fleet, which used the port of Liepaja as one of its main bases for 30 years.But last week, in fulfillment of a promise to withdraw Russian troops from Latvia by the end of August, the Russian Navy lowered its flag and withdrew its last three missile patrol boats.Malahovs, president of Latvian stevedoring firm Terrabalt, said that the submarine blocking his wharf had sunk after looters stripped its parts to sell them as scrap on Latvia's metals black market.The looters did their job so thoroughly, Malahovs said, that they broke the seal on the hull and the submarine sank one October night last year. Jekabs Laivenieks, deputy director of the Port of Liepaja, said most of the sunken armada went to the bottom under similar circumstances. According to Laivenieks, security grew lax at the port over the last year as it became clear that Russian troops were leaving for good, opening the way for looting, vandalism and corruption.Looters particularly prized the kingston, a metal plug that, when removed, lets water into a ship's hull. Laivenieks said that as recently as January, three frigate-class ships sank at moorings in one of the best parts of the harbor. "We would come in one day and see a ship afloat. The next day it was sunk," he said. "We phoned the Russian naval commander but he said he did not know what had happened." Nikolai Skripkin, spokesman for the Russian Baltic Sea Fleet, said in a telephone interview that he did not know exactly how the ships had sunk, but denied that metals theft was the reason. He said that the ships were all old and worn out and that many sank as long as 10 years ago.The deal which has seen the Russian Navy withdraw from Liepaja has been the subject of intense controversy in Latvia. Latvians are delighted to see Russia's soldiers leave but many have opposed a concession allowing 20,000 military pensioners, previously denied the right of residency under Latvian law, to remain behind.This compromise has angered nationalist Latvians who fear that the country's newfound independence will be submerged under the influence of Russia and of Russian speakers who account for about 45 percent of Latvia's 2.6 million residents. The Latvian government, however, hopes that troop withdrawal and improved relations with Russia will encourage foreign investment and bring a string of economic benefits.Last week, for example, Russia sent a diplomatic note granting Latvia Most Favored Nation trade status "on a temporary basis," giving Latvian exporters access to Russian markets which they had been denied for the past two years.Regaining the port of Liepaja will itself be a major economic gain for Latvia, a country which has traditionally lived from east-west trade and derives 10 percent of its national income from the ports and railways which act as a transit route.The Latvian government has declared rebuilding Liepaja a national priority and has granted unprecedented rent-free long-term leases on the port to private companies to encourage them to develop it.But the Russian base has fallen into such a state of disrepair that rebuilding it will take years. Every pane of glass in every building has been smashed. The moorings are crumbling and the main sea wall which protects the harbor is collapsing, allowing sand to fill the navigation channels. The sunken ships are also posing a small but real annoyance. The port wants the Russian Navy to lift and move them. Skripkin of the Russian Black Sea Fleet said the Russian Navy had intended to remove the sunken ships all along but tugging them back to Russia proved too expensive and dangerous. He said that Russia and Latvia would be setting up a joint venture company to raise the vessels and sell them for scrap.Laivenieks admits that Latvia is on uncertain legal ground in the dispute over the sunken ships because the port authority started renting out moorings to private operators even before the port legally belonged to Latvia. Laiveneks thinks that no legal action can be taken until after September, when the last Russian troops leave and the port becomes solely Latvian property.The Russian Navy has left behind 57 sailors to complete its withdrawal from Liepaja. Two unarmed Russian transport ships remained in port last week, moored at a berth which theoretically belongs to Latvian businessmen who are now building a metal export terminal.The Russian sailors did not ask permission to use the berth and the Latvian businessmen decided it was wiser not to complain, they said.