Itar-Tass
April 23, 2013
Pacific Fleet naval force to enter Mediterranean Sea in mid-May
MOSCOW: The naval force of the Russian Pacific Fleet consisting of the big anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleyev, big landing ships Peresvet and Admiral Nevelskoy will round off a routine visit in the Iranian port Bandar Abbas on April 24, will enter the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal in May and may probably call at the Syrian port Tartus, spokesman for the Russian Pacific Fleet Captain First Rank Roman Martov told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
“On April 24 upon the end of the visit to the port Bandar Abbas these three warships will set out in the Indian Ocean, they will meet with auxiliary ships from the Pacific Fleet naval force, namely the tanker Pechenga and the sea-going rescue ship Fotiy Krylov in the designated area. In this designated area the warships will stay for some time to undergo the technical maintenance and a minor repairs with the diving works, and if it is needed, for the struggle against the pirates. Then, according the action plan, the Pacific Fleet naval force will enter the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal in the middle of May. The Pacific Fleet task force will be acting within the Russian inter-fleet naval force at least for 1–2 months,” Martov said.
He admitted a possible call of the Pacific Fleet warships in the Syrian port of Tartus, where the Russian naval logistic base is deployed. “If it is needed and if such task is set, our warships will certainly fulfil it and will call at Tartus,” the spokesman said.
The Pacific Fleet warships set out from Vladivostok on March 19 for a combat duty mission in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. During the voyage the Russian naval task force was temporarily divided in two parts – the big anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleyev, the big landing ships Peresvet and Admiral Nevelskoy that have been on a visit in the Iranian city Bandar Abbas since April 22, the tanker Pechenga and Fotiy Krylov called at the port Salalah in the Sultanate of Oman to replenish the stocks of fresh water, fuel and food on April 18. The ships are to meet on April 24.
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