MURMANSK, March 13. /TASS/. The Northern Fleet’s crews carried out more than 30 voyages in the far maritime zone in 2018, commander of the Northern Fleet Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov told journalists on Wednesday.

"Last year the crews of surface ships, nuclear submarines and support vessels carried out more than 30 long voyages," Yevmenov noted. The Northern Fleet’s sailors demonstrated St. Andrew’s flag not just in the seas of the Arctic Ocean, but of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as well, he said. The unique location of the fleet’s bases made it possible to carry out such a high number of voyages. "Our ships and submarines have direct access to the ocean, and we are successfully using this benefit," the commander said.

Yevmenov reiterated that for the first time in modern history a group of the Northern Fleet’s ships headed by the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov took part in unique inter-fleet drills of the Russian Navy in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, solving important state tasks.

The crew of the large antisubmarine ship Severomorsk carried out a long voyage in the Indian Ocean, provided security for civil navigation in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, performed a number of military-diplomatic tasks, called on the ports of Algiers, Victoria, Pemba, Antsiranana, Djibouti and Limassol and took part in the international Russian-Pakistani anti-piracy drills dubbed "Arabian Monsoon-2018." "The ship ended an inter-voyage repair in Sevastopol, its crew returned from vacation and is now preparing to continue the long voyage," Yevmenov said.

The long voyage of main frigate of Project 22350 Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Gorshkov, which started on February 26, is especially important for the fleet this year, the commander said. This ship joined the missile ship division in September last year after combat testing. The frigate is unique as it was built under new Russian developments, has brand new weapons, higher combat capabilities and more comfortable living conditions for the crew.

"This is the first full-fledged frigate of the 1st rank in the Russian Navy and today it heads a Northern Fleet ship group and is successfully implementing the tasks of the long voyage, which will also be unique in the future cruising zones and the contents of the set tasks," the commander said.