Russian Navy Destroyer Fends Off Pirate Attack on Container Ship
A Russian Navy destroyer has fended off a pirate attack on a container ship near the western coast of Africa, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.Destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov received a distress signal from Panama-registered container ship Lucia en route from Togo to Cameroon on Monday, the ministry said in a statement, and dispatched a unit of marines on a helicopter to it.The pirates immediately fled, allowing Russian soldiers to free the ship's crew.The Russian destroyer was part of a group patrolling the Gulf of Guinea to ensure the security of civilian navigation.
Cold War Revival? British Military on QV
The Royal Navy’s 'fleet ready' escort HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, pinpointed and monitored the movement of the Russian destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov as it transited past the UK coast. Dragon deployed from Portsmouth last week to pre-position well north of Scotland in good time to respond to the Udaloy-Class destroyer’s deployment. She made contact with the Kulakov and is keeping an eye on the Russian ship’s transit south. The Royal Air Force was also involved recently with its Russian counterparts when RAF Typhoon Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) aircraft were launched from RAF Leuchars to determine the identity of unknown aircraft that were approaching the Nato air policing area north of Scotland.
Octogenarian Yachtsman on Ocean Passage Rescued
The 83-year-old British man was homeward bound from the Azores Islands when his yacht became disabled through storm damage. The crew of the Russian warship Vice-Admiral Kulakov responded to the lone yachtsman's MAYDAY call from his yacht Elixir in the North Sea. The yachtsman was given medical aid, telling the Russian sailors his yacht was pounded by a strong gale more than ten days ago while traveling to the UK from the Azores Islands. The yacht engine and electric equipment were disabled, and the main sail was torn. The Russian sailors brought hot food and drugs to the yacht. Ship technicians repaired the yacht's electric equipment and started up its engine.
Russian Warship Escorts Gulf of Aden Convoy
The convoy consisted of merchant ships flying flags of Malta and Liberia, the NF spokesman Capt 1 Rank Vadim Serga told ITAR-TASS. "Crew of destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov replenished supplies delivered by tanker Ivan Bubnov on May 25. After that, a new convoy will be formed at an assigned point in the Red Sea to be escorted along the 'safety corridor' again", Serga said. Destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov left NF main base Severomorsk on Apr 6. Throughout the deployment, the ship has covered over 9,000 nautical miles.
Arctic Ocean – Russia, Norway Hold Joint Naval Exercises
according to a Russian Northern Fleet spokesman. The Norwegian frigate Fritdjof Nansen moored in the Barents Sea port of Severomorsk, the home base for the Russian Northern Fleet, earlier this week as its crew took part in Victory Day celebrations in the nearby port of Murmansk and joined a military parade with some 700 Russian soldiers and officers. Russia and Norway have carried out the annual Pomor naval drills since 2010 to practice interoperability in the environmentally fragile Arctic area. The exercises include firing of live artillery rounds at simulated surface and aerial targets, anti-submarine warfare drills, anti-piracy operations, and search-and-rescue missions.
Russian Warships to Get NATO Comms Equipment
Russian warships will be equipped with NATO navigation and communications systems to improve coordination in anti-piracy missions around the world, Chief of the Russian General Staff Nikolai Makarov, as reported by Rianovosti News Agency. The issue has been discussed during a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels. “We decided to install standard NATO navigation and communications systems on our warships,” Makarov said. NATO warships have been patrolling the pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast since 2008, as part of Operation Ocean Shield.
Piracy – Russian Navy to Send Task Force to Gulf of Aden
A task force from Russia’s Northern Fleet, led by the Udaloy class destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov, is to depart on an new anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast, the fleet’s spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga said. The destroyer is currently on a training mission in the Barents Sea as part of the preparations for the upcoming tour-of-duty in the Gulf of Aden. “It will be the first anti-piracy mission for the Vice Admiral Kulakov destroyer,” Serga said. The new task force will replace the Russian Pacific Fleet’s task force headed by the Admiral Tributs destroyer…
Severnaya Verf Sends Ship Back to Northern Fleet
After modernizing by Severnaya Verf shipyard, a part of United Industrial Corporation, a large ship Vice-Admiral Kulakov goes back to Northern Fleet. The first ship was modernized at OPK’s shipyards and in the middle of April it’s going to be tested for further activity in Northern Fleet. To improve conditions of life, it was necessary to change some armament complexes and life-support system. In 1990s the ship was planned to utilize because of the lack of money. However at the beginning of this century RF Ministry of Defense had sufficiently money to repair and modernize the ship. In 1980s most of such ships were added to USSR armory. Nowadays RF Navy stocks seven ships and one more ship “Admiral Chabanenko” is getting to modernize.
