MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. The Northern Fleet’s missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov accompanied by the rescue tug SB-406 and the medium sea tanker Vyazma has entered the Mediterranean Sea, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.
"The Russian missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov accompanied by the rescue tug SB-406 and the medium sea tanker Vyazma has passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea," the press office said in a statement.
The Northern Fleet’s naval group will accomplish assignments in accordance with its long-distance deployment plan. In particular, the crews will "replenish fuel and water supplies from the tanker and hold drills for anti-saboteur defense in an unsafe roadstead, the press office specified.
The Northern Fleet’s naval group led by the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov left the Fleet’s main naval base of Severomorsk on July 3 to take part in Russia’s main naval parade in St. Petersburg. After the parade, the crews of the cruiser and the support vessels took part in the Russian Navy’s Ocean Shield-2019 large-scale drills.
Over the period of two months, the Northern Fleet’s naval group held a series of drills in the Mediterranean and visited Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. In the Atlantic Ocean, the Fleet’s naval group made business calls at the ports of Praia in the Republic of Cabo Verde and Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.
In late November, the Northern Fleet’s naval group held the first ever joint drills with the navies of China and South Africa to provide for safe shipping and maritime economic activity. The joint naval exercise involved the Chinese frigate Weifang and the South African warship Amatola, as well as support vessels of South Africa’s Navy.
The Northern Fleet’s ships have covered a distance of over 30,000 nautical miles since they embarked on their long-distance deployment.