SEVEROMORSK. Jan 20 (Interfax-AVN) - The Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft cruiser and the accompanying ships of the North Fleet are passing through a storm in the Mediterranean, North Fleet spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga told Interfax-AVN on Monday.
"Winds reach 15-17 meters per second and the sea disturbance number is 5 to 6 in the area of traveling of the North Fleet unit," Serga said.
In spite of the complex hydro-meteorological conditions, the crew of the aircraft carrying cruiser continues to prepare for flights of seaborne aircraft and to give maintenance to ship mechanisms and hardware.
The Admiral Kuznetsov is Russia's only aircraft carrying cruiser capable of transporting Sukhoi Su-33 heavy seaborne fighter jets and Kamov Ka-27 anti-sub helicopters and the world's only ship serving as a runway for fighter jets in circumpolar areas. The construction of the ship began at the Black Sea shipyards on September 1, 1982. It was launched on December 4, 1985, and hoisted the Navy flag on January 20, 1991.
The ship under command of Capt. 1st Rank Sergei Artamonov has unique dimensions: a deck length of 306 meters, a breadth of 75 meters and a height of about 60 meters, which is comparable with the height of a 20-story house. The ship's displacement is 60,000 tonnes. The total length of ship corridors exceeds 16 kilometers.
The Mediterranean mission of the aircraft carrying cruiser is its seventh long-distance voyage. The cruiser has been on missions to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean in 1995-1996, 2004, 2005, 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2011-2012.