15.01.2009
Source:
The Pyotr Veliky nuclear-powered missile cruiser has left the South African port of Cape Town after a three-day visit, a Russian Navy spokesman said on Thursday.
"The
Pyotr Veliky cruiser will continue its tour of duty, which includes taking part in joint naval exercises with the Indian navy, scheduled for the end of January," Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said.
INDRA is a biennial Russian-Indian exercise aimed at practicing cooperation in enforcing maritime law and countering piracy, terrorism and drug smuggling. INDRA-2009 is the fourth such exercise since 2003 and will involve a number of live-fire drills.
The
Pyotr Veliky will join up with warships from the Pacific Fleet for the INDRA-2009 exercise. The
Udaloy class destroyer
Admiral Vinogradov, a tugboat and two fuel tankers are already in the Indian Ocean, having left Russia's Far East a month ago.
The
Admiral Vinogradov destroyer has recently replaced the
Neustrashimy (Fearless) missile frigate from Russia's Baltic Fleet in the Gulf of Aden protecting commercial shipping from pirate attacks off the Somali coast.
The International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia said on Wednesday that the destroyer helped foil a pirate attack on a Dutch container ship.
