The Project 20380 ship built for the Black Sea will remain in the Baltic for the time beingThe shipyard "Severnaya Verf" announces the transfer to the main customer of the next corvette project 20380, armed with the Kalibr-NK complex with long-range cruise missiles.
The acceptance certificate of the state tests of the corvette "Mercury" was signed on May 13 by the chairman of the Commission for the State acceptance of ships, Captain 1st rank Viktor Ivanov.
On the eve of the event, with the joint efforts of the factory delivery team and the crew of military sailors, the ship completed testing and verification of onboard systems, weapons systems, rescue and special equipment.
The 100-meter corvette Mercury became the fifth ship of the project 20380, built in St. Petersburg. The production of such equipment has also been established at the Amur Shipbuilding Plant. As of May 2023, eight Project 20380 corvettes are serving in the Russian Navy, including five in the Baltic ("Watchful", "Smart", "Brisk", "Persistent", and now also "Mercury") and three in the Pacific Ocean. The staff of the enterprise in Komsomolsk-on-Amur is building three more ships of this type. At the same time, Severnaya Verf is preparing for the delivery of the "Strict" – the final in a series of corvettes planned for construction in St. Petersburg.
In addition, St. Petersburg shipbuilders are discussing the topic of ships of the improved project 20385. The lead ship of this modification, the "Rattling", was handed over to the customer in 2019. The next one is called to be "Agile".
Severnaya Verf is also engaged in project 20386, according to which the lead ship "Daring" is being built. From its predecessors, this corvette differs in displacement, increased from 2 to 3.5 tons, as well as a body of reduced visibility (made of composite materials using stealth technology). During the development of this family of ships, the composition of their armament was strengthened by the Redut anti-aircraft missile system and long-range cruise missiles that are part of the Kalibr-NK complex. It is reported that universal launchers placed on such ships also allow launching supersonic cruise missiles "Onyx".
The name "Mercury" is given to warships as a symbol of the courage and skill of Russian sailors. There were several vessels with this name in the Russian navy, as well as with the name "Memory of Mercury" (three ships). The first was an 18-gun sailing brig, laid down in Sevastopol in 1819 and commissioned the following summer. It was intended for the protection of the Caucasian coast, carrying out patrol service and reconnaissance. The brig served on the Black Sea and took part in the war with Turkey in 1828-1829.
Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Alexei Ivanovich Kazarsky, on May 14, 1829, the brig Mercury won a brilliant victory in an unequal battle with a pair of Turkish battleships. Although Selimiye and Real Bay had more than 10-fold superiority in the number of guns, the determination and fearlessness of the Mercury team helped to prevail over a strong enemy. Since then, Alexey Kazarsky and his subordinates have become a model for several generations of Russian sailors, and the brig Mercury has become a legend in the navy.
However, it turned out that for some time there was no ship under that name in the Russian Navy, which caused bewilderment and alarm in the hearts of the patriots of the country. When Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Sevastopol on a working trip, the townspeople asked him to resume the glorious tradition of building ships with the name "Mercury".
The prerogative of naming new ships belongs to the Ministry of Defense. Accordingly, in October 2021, the Commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Nikolai Evmenov, ordered by his order to assign the name "Mercury" to a corvette with the factory number 1007, under construction at the Northern Shipyard. It was originally laid down as the fifth hull under project 20380 and launched in 2020.
The next major event in the fate of the ship was the raising of the St. Andrew's flag, which became possible after the approval of the acceptance certificate by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov. The commander of the Mercury corvette, Captain 3rd Rank Alexander Lavrentiev, accepted the consecrated flag from Evmenov's hands. After parting words of congratulation and the appropriate command, the St. George Naval flag and flags of flourishing were raised on the newest ship of the project 20380.
Initially, the fifth corvette of the "Guarding" type built by the "Northern Shipyard" was intended for service on the Black Sea. However, its passage through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits is currently impossible due to a special military operation in Ukraine. According to the Montreux Convention, the government in Istanbul has the right to reject Moscow's request to move Russian warships from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. Therefore, Mercury will have to serve in the Baltic for some time. How further events will develop depends on the course of the special operation, relations with Turkey and the general situation in the world.
