Russia: Ships of Black Sea Joint Task Group BLACKSEAFOR Start Joint Tasks at Sea

Having finished the stay in Novorossiysk, ships of Black Sea joint task group BLACKSEAFOR on Aug 16 started joint tasks at sea under command of Capt 1 rank Yury Zemsky (Russian Navy).

The task group consists of Russian large landing ship Caesar Kunikov (BLACKSEAFOR flagship), Bulgarian minesweeper Priboy, Romanian corvette Sebastian, Turkish frigate Yildirim, and Ukrainian minesweeper Cherkassy.

Escorted by Black Sea Fleet (BSF) sea-going tug MB-31, the ships left Novorossiysk port and practiced joint maneuvering.

During the day, the multinational force carried out antiaircraft drill and towed a “damaged” vessel.

According to the BLACKSEAFOR activation plan, the ships are supposed to arrive in Turkish port Trabzon on Aug 19.

[mappress]
Source: rusnavy, August 18, 2011;