MOSCOW, May 23 (AVN) - The Valentin Pikul guard ship has successfully completed the first stage of sea trials, a spokesman for the naval guard department of the Federal Border Guard Service (FBGS) told the Military News Agency on Wednesday.
The ship was built by the St. Petersburg-based Almaz shipyard at the order from the FBGS. It is currently at the shipyard's quay. The solemn ceremony devoted to running up the FBGS flag will take place on the vessel on Friday. The event will be timed to Border Guard Day as well as to the 100th anniversary of the shipyard. Later the ship will continue sea trials.
The Valentin Pikul is a Project 10410 (NATO classification Firefly) vessel. It is made for accomplishment of patrol missions in the sea economic zone. The ship's displacement is 375t, length 49.5m, width 9.2m, speed 32 knots, navigability up to seven points and endurance 10 days. The cruising range is 1,600 to 2,200 miles. The ship is equipped with two artillery systems which are the 30mm AK-630M and the 76mm AK-176.
The keel of the vessel was laid in 1998 and the ship was set afloat on May 25, 2000. The border guard crew came to the shipyard in April this year and got immediately involved in the tests. After the ship is commissioned by the FBGS it will sail to the Caspian Sea through inner Russian waterways.