MOSCOW, Feb 8 - RIA Novosti. Exercises to combat pirates in areas of intensive shipping were conducted by marine units attached to a detachment of warships of the Northern Fleet, the press service of the Sevflot reported on Tuesday.
"A detachment of warships of the Northern Fleet conducted an exercise to curb pirate activity in areas of intensive shipping. The training was attended by marine units seconded for the duration of the campaign to the crews of the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov, the frigate Admiral Kasatonov and the large anti-submarine ship Vice Admiral Kulakov," the report says.
During the exercises, the servicemen, in a situation close to combat, worked out the search, elimination and detention of "violators" located in the interior and on the upper deck of ships. During the training, the participants used blank ammunition, and the electricity was turned off in the interior of the ship and the servicemen used night vision devices.
"Ensuring the safety of civil navigation in various areas of the world ocean is one of the important components of the detachment's actions, and the personnel must be in constant readiness to quickly and efficiently solve these tasks," said the commander of the detachment of Northern Fleet warships, Captain 1st rank Igor Nikitin.
Last year, the crew of the large anti-submarine ship Vice Admiral Kulakov rescued the container ship Lucia from pirates, whose crew consisted of Russian and Ukrainian sailors.
On Monday, a missile cruiser, a frigate and a large anti-submarine ship of the Northern Fleet entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar to take part in naval exercises involving warships of the Black Sea and Pacific fleets.
In accordance with the training plan of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for 2022, in January-February, a series of naval exercises are held in all areas of responsibility of the fleets under the overall leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov. The main focus of the exercises is to work out the actions of the Navy and Aerospace Forces to protect Russian national interests in the world Ocean, as well as to counter military threats to Russia from sea and ocean directions.
The exercises will cover the waters of the seas adjacent to the Russian territory, as well as operationally important areas of the World Ocean. Separate exercises will be held in the waters of the Mediterranean, Northern, Okhotsk Seas, in the north-eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Pacific Ocean. In total, it is planned to attract more than 140 warships and support vessels, more than 60 aircraft, 1,000 units of military equipment, and about 10,000 military personnel to the exercises.
