After transition from the Baltic Fleet to the Black Sea Fleet, the newest mine defence ship Vladimir Yemelyanov arrived in Sevastopol. The ship’s welcoming ceremony was attended by the commander of the Crimean naval base, Rear Admiral Felix Menkov, veterans of the Black Sea Fleet’s water area security unit, representatives of public organizations, and the clergy. During the period of being in the permanent group of the Navy in the Mediterranean Sea, the crew successfully completed the training course and confirmed their readiness to perform the tasks as intended. At the end of the meeting ceremony, the participants examined the new ship.
The Vladimir Yemelyanov is the third minesweeper of the Alexandrit class, Russian designation Project 12700 Aleksandrit (for the mineral alexandrite). In 2016, the shipyard handed over the Alexander Obukhov lead minesweeper to the Navy. In January 2019, the Ivan Antonov hoisted the Navy flag. Currently, the Russian Navy operates two Project 12700 minesweepers, Alexander Obukhov and Ivan Antonov. The third Alexandrite-class ship, Vladimir Yemelyanov, has already started the state trials program. The Alexandrit class is the newest class of Russian minesweepers designed by Almaz and being built by the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard for the Russian Navy.
The main feature of project 12700 is a monolithic fibreglass hull shaped by vacuum infusion, a modern construction method which results in a lighter hull with a longer service life. The displacement is close to 900 tons, the length is over 60 meters and the width is 10 meters. The ships of the class are designed to use various flails, as well as tele-guided and autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles to disable or destroy mines at safe distances. The speed is 16.5 knots. The crew comprises 44 men. The ship can operate various flails and remotely guided and unmanned underwater craft.
