SEVASTOPOL, October 16. /TASS/. The Black Sea Fleet’s patrol ship Vasily Bykov is passing through the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits in its long-distance deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

A source in the Crimean defense circles told TASS on Tuesday that the patrol ship Vasily Bykov was on its way to join the Russian Navy’s Mediterranean Squadron.

"The crew of the Black Sea Fleet’s patrol ship Vasily Bykov is passing through the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits and is heading for the Greek port of Pylos on an official visit," the Black Sea Fleet’s press office reported.

The patrol ship is due to arrive at the Greek port on October 19, the press office specified.

During its visit, the Russian ship’s crew will take part in the festivities devoted to the 192nd anniversary of the Naval Battle of Navarino. The united squadrons of Russia, Britain and France fought the Ottoman fleet in the Navarino Bay (now Pylos) on October 20, 1827. The allied forces’ victory in the naval battle played a decisive role in the rise of the Greek people’s national struggle for its independence.

The Vasily Bykov is the Project 22160 lead ship laid down at the Zelenodolsk Shipyard in the Volga area in 2014 and made operational in the Russian Navy in 2018 after its construction was completed at the Zaliv Shipyard in Kerch. The patrol ship was designed by the Severnoye Design Bureau (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation).

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet currently operates two Project 22160 ships, the Vasily Bykov and the Dmitry Rogachev.