Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
While aircraft carriers steal the spotlight when it comes to warships, mine defense ships are no less captivating, especially the new generation ones, like the Vladimir Yemelyanov. The newest mine defense ship in the Russian fleet returned to base, after completing sea trials.
An impressive audience, together with the commander of the Crimean naval base, Rear Admiral Felix Menkov, attended the welcoming ceremony for the Vladimir Yemelyanov ship, which took place in Sevastopol, on September 6. After successfully completing the crew’s training period as part of the permanent group of the Navy in the Mediterranean Sea, the mine defense ship is now ready to prove what it can do.
This is no ordinary vessel. Starting with its build, the Vladimir Yemelyanov already has a special status – its hull was not cut from the traditional steel, but made from glass-fiber reinforced plastic. This makes it much more resilient and long-lasting, extending its service life for up to 30 years, while also being significantly lighter.
When the ship’s construction began at the Sredne-Nevsky shipyard in Sankt Petersburg, a few years ago, it immediately drew international attention due to its innovative hull. According to a Russian Navy spokesman, cited by the Tass news agency, this new generation minesweeper has the largest hull made of monolith glass-fiber reinforced plastic, in the world, and is equipped with the most advanced mine countermeasures armament.
The Alexandrit-class coastal-type minesweepers, also referred to as Project 12700, are the latest generation of mine defense ships, capable of protecting against sea mines without entering the dangerous zone. Besides the traditional weapons for minesweepers, these advanced ships also boast an automated mine action control system. Plus, the hydro-acoustic stations placed on the ship, as well as on autonomous underwater vehicles, allow them to remotely control and deploy these types of drones.
All the ships in this class feature the innovative hull, and are 62-meter (203 feet) long. Vladimir Yemelyanov is the third one to enter service, after the flagship Alexander Obukhov was delivered in 2016, followed by the Ivan Antonov minesweeper, in 2018.
This is no ordinary vessel. Starting with its build, the Vladimir Yemelyanov already has a special status – its hull was not cut from the traditional steel, but made from glass-fiber reinforced plastic. This makes it much more resilient and long-lasting, extending its service life for up to 30 years, while also being significantly lighter.
When the ship’s construction began at the Sredne-Nevsky shipyard in Sankt Petersburg, a few years ago, it immediately drew international attention due to its innovative hull. According to a Russian Navy spokesman, cited by the Tass news agency, this new generation minesweeper has the largest hull made of monolith glass-fiber reinforced plastic, in the world, and is equipped with the most advanced mine countermeasures armament.
The Alexandrit-class coastal-type minesweepers, also referred to as Project 12700, are the latest generation of mine defense ships, capable of protecting against sea mines without entering the dangerous zone. Besides the traditional weapons for minesweepers, these advanced ships also boast an automated mine action control system. Plus, the hydro-acoustic stations placed on the ship, as well as on autonomous underwater vehicles, allow them to remotely control and deploy these types of drones.
All the ships in this class feature the innovative hull, and are 62-meter (203 feet) long. Vladimir Yemelyanov is the third one to enter service, after the flagship Alexander Obukhov was delivered in 2016, followed by the Ivan Antonov minesweeper, in 2018.
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