International Group BLACKSEAFOR Starts Drills at Sea

10.08.2012 Ships of the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group (BLACKSEAFOR) left Turkish Navy's main base Gölcük and started accomplishing tasks at sea.

Prior to that, Russian party handed over command to Turkey. Now the group is headed by Turkish naval officer Capt Hakan Güneş.

In the Sea of Marmara, warships of Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine practiced piloting behind sweeps and held monitoring over civilian shipping.

Throughout the day, mariners of Black Sea regional navies trained air defense of the task group, and after passage of the Bosporus Strait at night they will hold signaling drill in the Black Sea.

On Saturday, it is planned to practice rescuing of a man overboard and conduct underway transshipment drill. Also, ships of the international task group will train in communication, joint maneuvering, and inspection of suspect vessels.

Expectedly, BLACKSEAFOR ships on Aug 13 will call at Turkish port Trabzon to replenish supplies and let the crews have rest and attend cultural activities.

In the current summer activation of BLACKSEAFOR group, Russia is represented by Black Sea Fleet (BSF) landing ship Novocherkassk.