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Russian shipbuilders to float out cutting-edge minesweeper in late November

It is the Project 12700 seventh ship being built for the Russian Navy

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. The Project 12700 mine countermeasures ship Anatoly Shlemov was rolled out of the workshop and its float-out is scheduled for the end of November, the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard (within the United Shipbuilding Corporation) announced on its website on Thursday.

"The Shipyard’s specialists have completed works to shape the hull and a part of the ship’s superstructure and outfit them with systems and mechanisms. Further outfitting work will be carried out outside the workshop. The ship is set to be put afloat at the end of November 2021," the statement says.

The minesweeper Anatoly Shlemov was laid down in July 2019. This is the Project 12700 seventh ship being built for the Russian Navy.

The Project 12700 ship has been engineered by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) and represents a new generation of mine countermeasure ships. The warship features the world’s largest unique hull made of monolithic fiberglass.

The unique hull enhances the warship’s strength and ensures a far better anti-mine resistance. A warship made of monolithic fiberglass has a greater service life than a hull made of low-magnetic steel and its weight is considerably less.

Russia’s Project 12700 Alexandrit-class coastal-type minesweepers developed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau are referred to the new generation of minesweeping forces and are designated to fight sea mines, which the new ships can encounter in the sea and on the seabed without entering the danger zone. The minesweepers can employ various sweeps, as well as remotely controlled and autonomous underwater drones.