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Russia’s latest minesweeper to enter trials in June

The minesweeper will join Russia’s Black Sea Fleet

Project 12700 minesweeper Vladimir Yemelyanov Piotr Kovalev/TASS

Project 12700 minesweeper Vladimir Yemelyanov

© Piotr Kovalev/TASS

MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/. The Project 12700 latest minesweeper Vladimir Yemelyanov will enter dockside trials in June this year, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov said at the Navy’s enlarged board meeting on Wednesday.

"The dockside tests of the mine countermeasures vessel Vladimir Yemelyanov will begin in June," the Defense Ministry’s newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda quoted the Navy chief as saying.

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Russian fiberglass minesweepers to get mine-clearing robots

The minesweeper Vladimir Yemelyanov was floated out on May 30 at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard in St. Petersburg. The Vladimir Yemelyanov became the Project 12700 ‘Alexandrit’ fourth vessel laid down at the Shipyard. The minesweeper was named after Socialist Labor Hero Vladimir Yemelyanov who had been the Shipyard’s head during the Soviet period.

It was earlier reported that the minesweeper was due to sail to the sea in August after undergoing shipbuilders’ trials. The minesweeper will join Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Project 12700 Alexandrit-class coastal-type minesweepers are referred to the new generation of minesweeping forces and are designed to fight sea mines, which the new ships can encounter in the sea and at the seabed without entering the dangerous zone. The minesweepers can employ various sweeps, as well as remotely controlled and autonomous underwater drones. The minesweepers of this Project displace 890 tonnes, are 62 meters long and ten meters wide and have a crew of 44 men.

Project 12700 mine countermeasures vessels (minesweepers) have their hull made of glass-fiber reinforced plastic. As its advantage, this solution provides for the ship’s higher strength compared to the steel hull. The hull made of the monolith glass-fiber reinforced plastic has a longer service life (up to 30 years) than the hull made of low-magnetic steel while its weight is considerably smaller.

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