BLACKSEAFOR Ships Entered Upon Sea Phase

11.04.2012 Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group (BLACKSEAFOR) comprising flagship large landing ship Caesar Kunikov (Russian Navy), corvette Reshitelni (Bulgarian Navy), corvette Sebastian (Romanian Navy), frigate Yavuz (Turkish Navy), and seagoing minesweeper Cherkasy (Ukrainian Navy) departed from Romanian port Constanta on Apr 10 to perform sea phase of the exercise.

When moored at Constanta, Caesar Kunikov was visited by Russian Ambassador to Romania Oleg Malginov. He congratulated the crew on the good start and wished them success in maintaining peace and security in the region.

Prior to departure, all participating ships were equipped with integrated communication system for online data exchange during the activation; all appropriate drills and briefings were held as well. When leaving Constanta, BLACKSEAFOR ships practiced minesweeper pilotage, search and rescue of distressed ship, towage of damage vessel, and underway transshipment with participation of Romanian minesweeper Alexandru Axente and rescue tug Alexandru Catuneanu.

When deployed at sea, the ships will practice formation maneuvering, control of commercial shipping, examination of vessels, and repelling attacks of enemy ships and a small-size surface target.

Since Aug 2011, the BLACKSEAFOR task force is headed by Russian representative Capt 1 rank Yury Zemsky. The exercise headquarters controls the task force from the board of Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov.

When the sea phase is over, the ships will call at Sevastopol. The visit is scheduled on Apr 13.