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Russia’s Black Sea Fleet minesweeper holds Mediterranean drills

During the drills, the crew searched for mines in a designated sea area, using various types of contact and distance sweeps

Black Sea Fleet’s minesweeper Kovrovets Alexei Pavlishak/TASS

Black Sea Fleet’s minesweeper Kovrovets

© Alexei Pavlishak/TASS

MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. The crew of the Black Sea Fleet’s minesweeper Kovrovets operating as part of Russia’s Mediterranean taskforce practiced mine countermeasures in the waters close to a naval base, the Fleet’s press office said in a statement on Tuesday.

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"During the training exercise, the crew searched for mines in a designated sea area, using various types of contact and distance sweeps. Along with practicing their directly assigned tasks, the sailors also conducted shipborne drills to fight for the vessel’s survivability, ensure its air and anti-sabotage defense at sea and during anchorage in an unsafe roadstead," the Fleet said.

The ocean minesweeper Kovrovets has been accomplishing missions as part of the Russian Navy’s Mediterranean Squadron since July 2019, the Black Sea Fleet’s press office said.

The Kovrovets (hull No. 913) is a Project 266M ‘Akvamarin’ minesweeper that entered service with the Black Sea Fleet in 1974. It is designated to lead ships and vessels, carry out reconnaissance and check sweeping, lay a waterway in minefields and set mines at long distances from its naval bases.

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