MURMANSK, January 30 (Itar-Tass) – The large anti-submarine warfare ship Severomorsk, the salvage tug Altai and the intermediary sea-going tanker Dubna of the Northern Fleet that took part in the active phase of the exercise of the joint group of ships of the Russian Naval Force in the Mediterranean, head for the Gulf of Aden for securing civil shipping. They entered the Suez Canal on Wednesday, a spokesman for the fleet’s headquarters told ltar-Tass.
Prior to the Severomorsk entering the canal, its crew drilled the passage of a convoy of vessels and simulated the recovery of a pirate-held vessel. Radio communication was in English, as international rules require.
Shortly before the exercise, the Severomorsk visited the Port of Souda, Greece, where naval officers, the ship’s command and a group of marines visited the maritime operational training center. There was exchange of experience in anti-piracy actions.
The crew of the large anti-submarine warfare ship of the Northern Fleet, the Vice Admiral Kulakov, was patrolling the Gulf of Aden and the area of the Horn of Africa for 159 days in 2012. The ship covered over 29,000 miles, ensuring safe passage of 27 civilian vessels in ten convoys, including eight vessels flying the Russian flag.