2017-04-01 According to defenceWeb, the next stop on the visit of a Russian naval task force has been Nambia.
The Russian Federation Navy’s Northern Fleet detachment is currently in Namibia on a historic visit.
The detachment paid its first ever visit to Namibia on 25 March, docking in Walvis Bay. The detachment comprises the Severomorsk (Udaloy I/Project 1155 class) large anti-submarine destroyer, Altay (Ingul, Project 1453 class) rescue tug and Dubna replenishment tanker.
According to Namibia’s New Era, the Severomorsk was on 27 March received at Walvis Bay by Russian Ambassador to Namibia Alexander Khudin and Mayor of Walvis Bay Wilfred Immanuel.
“Our visit to Namibia reaffirms the sound bilateral relations between Namibia and Russia, and further opens trade and exchange opportunities between the two countries,” explained the fleet’s senior commander, Captain Stanislav Varik.
The New Era quotes Varik as saying the vessels will after refuelling and restocking make its way to West Africa before returning to Russia.
The detachment previously visited South Africa, arriving in Cape Town for a port visit on 20 March. The Severomorsk was attached to the Russian naval group which took part in counter-terrorism operations in Syria, leaving her home base at Severomorsk on the coast of the Barents Sea on 16 November 2016. She provided security for the Northern Fleet grouping headed by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier during combat operations near the Syrian coast in December 2016/January 2017.
The anti-submarine destroyer and her two escorts thereafter participated in the international AMAN-2017 sea drills in the Arabian Sea in mid-February. That four-day exercise, with 37 countries taking part, was the fifth such exercise Pakistan has hosted since 2007.
The press service of the Russian Northern fleet noted that during the exercise, the Severomosrk crew interacted with colleagues from Pakistan, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey and several other countries to enhance efforts on combating piracy and protecting international trade routes.
Following AMAN-2017, the three-vessel detachment crossed the equator and docked at the port of Victoria in the Seychelles to replenish stores in the first week of March.
Republished with the permission of our partner defenceWeb