“A squadron of Black Sea Fleet ships from Russia’s permanent Naval Force in the Mediterranean docked at Alexandria port on Saturday,” the Head of the Fleet’s press service, Captain First Rank Vyacheslav Trukhachev, said.
The Moskva missile cruiser, the Samum missile hovercraft, an oil tanker and a sea-going tug are in Egypt as part of longstanding cooperation between the two countries’ Navies, the press service said in a statement.
The flagship of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, the Varyag missile cruiser, docked at Alexandria port in November 2013, making it the first Russian warship to visit Egypt since 1992.
The Russian ships are scheduled to stay in Egyptian waters until June 9.
Meanwhile, the first of six new patrol ships to combat piracy under the Russian Navy's project will enter into service by the end of 2016, the Navy Ship Building Directorate Head, Captain Ι Rank Vladimir Tryapichnikov, said on Saturday.
“Naturally, the ship was designed to combat piracy in the Horn of Africa. We have designed six ships of this class, and expect the first-in-class Vasily Bykov by the end of 2016,” Tryapichnikov said in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio station.
“Patrol ships are really a novelty for the Navy. We analyzed the situation and understand that this ship should not be fitted with missile weapons, but fly the St. Andrew flag in different regions of the World Ocean,” he elaborated.
Tryapichnikov explained that the patrol ships will be armed with large- and small-caliber artillery systems, as well as speedboats and a helicopter.
Source: Reuters; Sputnik; Photo: Reuters
