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Latest tugboat to enter service with Russia’s Black Sea Fleet on February 21

The new tugs have a lifting capacity of 200 tonnes and an operating range of 300 nautical miles

A tugboat Yuri Smityuk/TASS, archive

A tugboat

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS, archive

SEVASTOPOL, February 19. /TASS/. The Project 23470 first sea-going tug Sergei Balk will enter service with Russia’s Black Sea Fleet on February 21, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

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"On February 21, 2020 (Friday), a ceremony is due to take place to hoist the St. Andrew’s [Russian naval] flag and include the latest tug Sergei Balk in the structure of support vessels of the Black Sea Fleet’s auxiliary fleet," the press office said in a statement.

The tug Sergei Balk built for the Black Sea Fleet is the Project 23470 lead ship, the press office specified.

Project 23470 ships are designed to tow vessels in ice-covered and ice-free waters, assist them within port areas and in mooring, provide escort operations at sea, extinguish fires on floating platforms and at coastal facilities and fuel burning on the water surface, and also to refloat ships and vessels.

The new tugs have a lifting capacity of 200 tonnes and an operating range of 300 nautical miles and their sea endurance is 30 days.

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