The ceremony was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral Sergey Lipilin
KALININGRAD, August 20. /TASS/. The mine defense ship "Georgy Kurbatov" became part of the fleet, the solemn ceremony of the first raising of the naval flag was held on Friday in Baltiysk-the main base of the Baltic Fleet, the press service of the fleet reported.
"On August 20, at noon, a solemn ritual of the first raising of the Naval Flag of the Russian Federation took place in Baltiysk on the newest ship of the PMO "Georgy Kurbatov" project 12700, built for the Navy at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard, "the press service said. The Georgy Kurbatov has joined the minesweeping forces of the Russian Navy as part of a program to re-equip them.
The ceremony was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral Sergey Lipilin, General Director of the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard Vladimir Seredokho, Chief Adviser to the President of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) for military shipbuilding Viktor Chirkov, military personnel of the Baltic Naval Base, personnel of the new ship. As previously reported, "Georgy Kurbatov" will become part of the 68th brigade of the protection of the water area of the Black Sea Fleet.
The press service noted to TASS that the new PMO ship has successfully completed the entire complex of tests, including state ones, in the sea ranges of the Baltic Fleet. From Baltiysk, the ship will go to the place of permanent basing, the press service said, without specifying the start date of the inter-fleet transition.
The PMO ships of the 12700 project are designed to combat sea mines, including the new so-called smart sea mines, which the ships of this project are able to detect both in the water of marine waters and in the sea soil, without entering the dangerous zone. To combat mines, they can use various types of trawls, as well as remote-controlled and autonomous uninhabited underwater vehicles.
The displacement of the ship is 890 tons, the length is 61 meters, the width is 10 meters, the speed at full displacement is 16.5 knots, the crew is over 40 people. The ship has high maneuverability due to the use of an effective complex of various thrusters. The PMO ships of this project have the world's largest hull made of monolithic fiberglass, formed by vacuum infusion.