KALININGRAD. June 14 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Baltic Fleet is hosting a day-long Russian-French exercise of trawler ships, Colonel Anatoly Lobsky, the Baltic Fleet's press service chief, told Interfax Tuesday.
He said that the Alexei Lebedev trawler of the fleet and the French Cassiopeia trawler are involved in the exercise.
According to Lobsky, the commanding officers and crews of the ships held a joint training to refine skills of performing various operations on Monday. "The ships sailed off today to start the exercise at one of the Baltic Fleet's training waters," he added.
The main objective of the exercise is to refine skills of joint operations of two trawler ships. The crews will stay at sea almost all day maneuvering, trawling and performing communication procedures.
The Cassiopeia arrived in Baltiysk, the main naval base of the Baltic Fleet, on June 11, Lobsky said. The Russian Navy trawler Alexei Lebedev was the hosting ship at the base. After the exercise is over, the French ship will continue its tour of the Baltic Sea, while the Russian trawler will return to home-base.
The Alexei Lebedev has a displacement of 448 tonnes, length of 49 meters, width of eight meters, speed of 12 knots, sea-going capability of five, crew of 35, and is armed with two six-barrel anti-aircraft cannons and trawling equipment.