VLADIVOSTOK. Feb 27 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Pacific Fleet warships will take to the sea again before their long-term voyage to the Indian Ocean.
"The Admiral Panteleyev and Marshal Shaposhnikov large antisubmarine ships followed by a bunkering tanker will take to the sea again on February 28," Vice Admiral Valeri Tsvirko, deputy commander of the Pacific Fleet on armament, told Interfax- Military News Agency on Thursday.
"The ships will practice interaction in receiving liquid and solid load on move," Tsvirko said.
The ships are to go to the training area of the Russian Pacific Fleet.
Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Viktor Fyodorov said in mid- February that the ships of the fleet were ready to go to the Indian Ocean. The ships will depart "as soon as the Defense Minister's order comes," he said.
At first the ships were planned to depart about February 15, but then Defense Ministry officials repeatedly said that the date of departure would depend upon the developments around Iraq. In particular, Sergei Ivanov, Defense Minister, said in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday that "the terms of the voyage have not been determined yet; they will depend on many factors, including the situation around Iraq." Ivanov also said that no reshuffle of the groups tailored by the Pacific and Black Sea Fleets was planned.
All in all 10 surface ships and submarines are to be tailored for the mission in the Indian Ocean that might take one to three months. The core of the joint group will be made up by warships and auxiliary ships of the Black Sea Fleet. Several Pacific Fleet ships will reinforce them.
In the Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva cruiser (flagship), the Tsezar Kunikov landing craft, as well as the Pytlivy and Smetlivy corvettes and auxiliary ships and vessels are getting ready for the mission.