TASS-FACTBOX. On April 24, 2026, A new seafaring minesweeper, the Dmitry Glukhov, was laid down at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation in St. Petersburg. It is the sixteenth ship of Project 12700 laid down this year. The TASS-FACTBOX editorial team has prepared a report on the ships of this class.
Basic information
Project 12700 (Alexandrit) minesweepers are a new generation of mine countermeasure ships designed and being built for the Russian Navy. They are designed to search for, sweep, and destroy mines in coastal areas and in the near-sea zone.
Project history
The project was developed in the 1990s by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau (St. Petersburg). The need to build a new series arose because the Russian Navy’s then-current minesweepers (Projects 266M and 12650) were built in the 1970s and 1980s, and their equipment was no longer capable of effectively neutralizing modern mines.
Project 12700 minesweepers are equipped with an automated control system, contact and magnetic sweeps, and modern sonar systems, which are mounted both on the ship itself and on remotely operated and autonomous vehicles.
The ships have a monolithic fiberglass hull formed using vacuum infusion. They are being built at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard (a subsidiary of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, USC).
The state contract between the Russian Ministry of Defense and Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard for development work on the lead ship was initially signed on March 30, 2007, and renewed on June 10, 2014. The contract cost was not disclosed, but the ship’s insured value was 5.5 billion rubles ($72.94 million, according to the insurance contract). The state contract for the construction of a series of three ships was signed on April 17, 2014. In 2016, the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard received a contract for the construction of three more serial minesweepers. On December 26, 2017, deputy chief of the Russian Navy's Shipbuilding Department Captain 1st Rank Mikhail Krasopeyev announced that the Navy expected to receive ten Project 12700 ships by 2027. However, on May 21, 2019, a Russian Navy spokesperson noted that "in the near term, the fleet plans to have about forty ships of Project 12700."
Project features
The project ships have two sets of diesel engines. The ships are equipped with a mine-hunting and mine-destroying system. Initially, three sets of mine-countermeasure systems, consisting of an unmanned boat with remotely operated underwater vehicles, were purchased from the French company ECA Group to equip the ships. The Navy ultimately decided against localizing the production of these boats and underwater vehicles in Russia. Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard CEO Vladimir Seredokho told the media that a Russian manufacturer would supply unmanned boats for the Project 12700 series minesweepers. The Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau developed such a boat in 2018.
Ships of the project
- The lead ship is the Aleksandr Obukhov (named after Captain 1st Rank, Hero of the Soviet Union, the commander of the Maly Okhotnik boats during WWII). Work on the hull began in 2007. It was officially laid down on September 22, 2011, and launched on June 27, 2014. Yard building number 521. It entered service with the Baltic Fleet on December 9, 2016.
- The first ship of the line to be laid down was the Georgy Kurbatov (named after the Soviet Navy sailor and Hero of the USSR who distinguished himself during the landing of an amphibious group during the Petsamo-Kirkenes Offensive in 1944). It was laid down on April 24, 2015, under yard building number 522. On July 7, 2016, a fire broke out on board, seriously damaging the hull. There were no casualties, but the ship’s delivery date was significantly delayed. Launched on September 30, 2020. Tactical number 631. Entered service with the Baltic Fleet on August 20, 2021.
- The Ivan Antonov (named after the Soviet Navy sniper and Hero of the USSR). Construction began in May 2016, and the ship was laid down on January 25, 2017, under the hull number 523. Launched on April 25, 2018, the minesweeper was commissioned into the Black Sea Fleet on January 26, 2019. The minesweeper was the first serial ship of the project delivered to the customer.
- The Vladimir Yemelyanov (named after the Soviet shipbuilder who headed the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard from 1962 to 1974). Laid down on April 20, 2017, under hull number 524, launched on May 30, 2019. Transferred to the Navy on December 28, 2019, and commissioned into the Black Sea Fleet.
- The Yakov Balyayev (named in honor of a Pacific Fleet machine gunner who died in 1945 in battle with the Japanese). Laid down on December 26, 2017, under hull number 525. Launched on January 29, 2020, and transferred to the Pacific Fleet on December 26, 2020.
- The Pyotr Ilyichev (named in honor of the Soviet Navy sailor and Hero of the USSR who, in 1945, blocked a Japanese pillbox with his body). Laid down on July 25, 2018, under hull number 526. Launched on April 28, 2021. Commissioned into the Pacific Fleet on November 17, 2022.
- The Anatoly Shlemov (named in honor of the Vice Admiral who headed the Russian Navy’s Order and Delivery Directorate for Ships, Naval Armament, and Military Equipment from 2005 to 2008 and the USC State Defense Procurement Department from 2008 to 2016). Laid down on July 12, 2019, under hull number 527. Launched on November 26, 2021. Commissioned into the Pacific Fleet on December 29, 2022.
- The Lev Chernavin (named in honor of the Soviet Admiral who was the commander of the 4th Submarine Squadron of the Northern Fleet from 1974 to 1979). The ship was laid down on July 24, 2020, under hull number 528, launched on April 14, 2023, and entered service on December 25, 2023.
- The Afanasy Ivannikov (named in honor of Hero of the Soviet Union, commander of the minesweeper T-115, which escorted Arctic Allied convoys during World War II). The ship was laid down on September 9, 2021, and entered service with the Northern Fleet on May 7, 2025.
- The Polyarny (laid down on June 12, 2022). This is the first ship of this class being built for the Northern Fleet. The ship was named after the city of military glory of Polyarny, where the main base of the Northern Fleet was located during WWII. Launched on April 24, 2025.
- The Dmitry Lysov (named in honor of the commander of the T-120 minesweeper of the Northern Fleet, who heroically died in September 1944 in the Kara Sea in a battle with a German submarine while escorting one of the Arctic convoys). Laid down on June 19, 2023, launched on December 5, 2025.
- The Semyon Agafonov (named in honor of Hero of the Soviet Union Semyon Agafonov, a WWII and the Soviet-Japanese War participant). Laid down on January 18, 2024.
- The Viktor Korner (named in honor of Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Korner, a WWII participant). Laid down on July 16, 2024
- The Sergey Preminin (named in honor of Hero of Russia submariner Sergey Preminin, who in 1986, at the cost of his life, prevented a radiation disaster on the K-219 submarine). Laid down on May 16, 2025
- The Leonid Balyakin (in honor of Rear Admiral Leonid Balyakin, Hero of the Soviet Union, participant in the Soviet-Japanese War). Laid down on August 29, 2025
- The Dmitry Glukhov (in honor of Captain 3rd Rank Dmitry Glukhov, Hero of the Soviet Union, participant in the defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942). Laid down on April 24, 2026.