07.08.2012
Text: Black Sea Fleet Press Service
Photo: Black Sea Fleet Press Service
Russia's Black Sea Fleet (BSF) Commander RADM Alexander Fedotenkov will take part in the command handover ceremony of the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group (BLACKSEAFOR). An officer of Turkish Navy will take over command from a representative of Russian Navy.
The ceremony will be held on Aug 9 in the Turkish Navy's main base Gölcük. In the presence of naval commanders of all Black Sea states, BSF Deputy Chief of Staff Capt 1 Rank Yury Zemsky who has been heading the international task force throughout a year will devolve his authority to Turkish Navy's Capt Hakan Güneş.
Flagship of the joint naval force at the coming activation will be the first national corvette of Turkish Navy TCG
Heybeliada. Russia is represented by landing ship
Novocherkassk, Bulgaria – by minesweeper
Shkval, Romania – by corvette
Macelariu, Ukraine – by command ship
Slavutich.
Upon arrival of ships at the port, a meeting on administrative matters was held, then commanding officers of BLACKSEAFOR ships paid courtesy visits to military and civil authorities of Gölcük.
When preparing for the BLACKSEAFOR activation, hardware of joint communication system was installed on the participating ships. Such system is needed to control task force and exchange information during the exercise.
