ST. PETERSBURG. Feb 17 (Interfax-AVN) - The Black Sea Fleet's large landing ships, Saratov and Yamal, have left Sevastopol and headed to the Mediterranean Sea to operate as part of the permanent naval task force of the Russian Navy, a spokesperson for the Navy General Headquarters told Interfax-AVN on Monday.
"The landing ships Saratov and Yamal are about to enter Bosporus, tomorrow they are to pass through the Dardanelles. After entering the Aegean Sea the ships will head to the eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea where they will join the naval force," the spokesperson said.
The large landing ship Saratov led by 2nd Captain Nikolai Paly recently underwent a months-long refurbishment, he said.
The Mediterranean naval task forces consists of the heavy nuclear missile-guided cruiser Petr Veliky, the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Levchenko, the large landing ships Azov, Georgy Pobedonosets, Olenegorsky Gornyak and Kaliningrad, and the reconnaissance ship Admiral Fedor Golovin. They are escorted by the rescue tugboats Altai and Nikolai Chiker and the tankers Sergei Osipov, Iman and Kama. A floating workshop, PM-56, is based at the Syrian port of Tartus. The naval force is led by 1st Captain Oleg Peshkurov.