As reported, on November 16, 2022, a solemn ceremony of raising the Naval flag of Russia on the naval minesweeper "Pyotr Ilyichev" (factory number 526) of project 12700 (code "Alexandrite") took place in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. This ship, built by JSC Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard (SNSZ, part of JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation - USC) in St. Petersburg, became the sixth minesweeper of the new generation of Project 12700 commissioned by the Russian Navy, and the second as part of the 114th Brigade of the protection of the water area of Troops and Forces in the North-The East (Kamchatka), after the minesweeper "Yakov Balyaev" (factory number 525), which entered service in December 2020.
Commissioned by the Russian Navy, the naval minesweeper "Pyotr Ilyichev" (factory number 526) of project 12700. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 11/16/2022 (c) "Kamchatka time" Designed for the Pacific Fleet, the minesweeper "Pyotr Ilyichev" (factory number 526) of project 12700 was laid down at JSC Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard on July 25, 2018, launched on April 28, 2021, and has been tested in the Baltic Sea since November 2021, having completed State tests, among other things.
Since July 11, 2022, the minesweeper has been in tow along the White Sea-Baltic Canal, and then along the Northern Sea Route, made the transition to its base in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where it arrived on October 23. After making a control exit to the sea in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, now the Pyotr Ilyichev has been commissioned by the Russian Navy. [...]
Earlier, the minesweeper Yakov Balyaev (factory number 525), built on the SNSZ, was transferred to the Pacific Fleet. The ceremony of its laying was performed at the SNSZ on December 26, 2017, the launch was carried out there on January 29, 2020. From August 3 to October 22, 2020, the minesweeper Yakov Balyaev was transferred in tow from Kronstadt around Europe to Murmansk and then by the Northern Sea Route to Vladivostok for factory sea trials and State tests. Factory sea trials of the minesweeper Yakov Balyaev were launched in Vladivostok on November 12, 2020, and on December 26, 2020, the ship joined the Navy there. In 2021, the ship moved to its permanent base in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
From July 15, 2022, the seventh project 12700 minesweeper "Anatoly Shlemov" (factory number 527), which arrived in Vladivostok on October 18, was transferred to the Pacific Fleet by tow along the White Sea-Baltic Canal, and then along the Northern Sea Route. It was laid down at the SNSZ on July 12, 2019 and launched on November 26, 2021. Like the Yakov Balyaev, the Anatoly Shlemov minesweeper will undergo factory running and State tests in Vladivostok.
In total, six Project 12700 minesweepers have been built and transferred to the Russian Navy in this way - "Alexander Obukhov" (factory number 521, commissioned by the Navy on December 9, 2016), "Ivan Antonov" (factory number 523, commissioned on January 26, 2019), "Vladimir Emelyanov" (factory number 524, commissioned on December 28, 2019), "Yakov Balyaev" (factory number 525, commissioned on December 26, 2020), "Georgy Kurbatov" (factory number 522, commissioned on August 20, 2021) and "Pyotr Ilyichev" (factory number 526, commissioned construction on November 16, 2022). The minesweeper Alexander Obukhov is part of the Baltic Fleet, the minesweepers Yakov Balyaev and Pyotr Ilyichev are part of the Pacific Fleet (Troops and forces in the Northeast), and the minesweepers Ivan Antonov, Vladimir Yemelyanov and Georgy Kurbatov are part of the Black Sea Fleet.
The construction of minesweepers of this project "Lev Chernavin" (factory number 528, laid down on July 24, 2020), "Afanasy Ivannikov" (factory number 529) continues at the SNSZ, html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> laid on September 9, 2021) and "Polar" (factory number 530, laid on June 12, 2022).
At the laying ceremony of the minesweeper Yakov Balyaev on December 26, 2017, the then deputy head of the Russian Navy's Shipbuilding Department, Captain 1st Rank Mikhail Krasnopeev, said that the Russian Navy expects to receive 10 ships of Project 12700 by 2027 [that is, according to the State Armament Program for 2018-2027].
The naval minesweeper "Pyotr Ilyichev" (factory number 526) of project 12700 before the ceremony of raising the Naval flag of Russia. On shipboard lifebuoys, the ship is referred to as a "sea minesweeper". Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 11/16/2022 (c) "Kamchatka time"