26.03.2012
Staying idle near Northern River Port in Moscow for over 8 years, hull of frigate Druzhny is waiting for a new owner. In Dec 2010 the ship was put up for sale. Current owners have not sold the ship for scrap looking for a buyer. Posted price for the floating entertainment center is RUR 2.5 mln.
Many years residents and guests of Moscow have been waiting for a moment when the half-knocked-down frigate would be put into shape and opened for visits as a naval showpiece of Moscow. The capital's naval museum includes Project 641B diesel submarine
B-396, unique Project 903 amphibious ekranoplan
Orlenok, and the first Soviet Project 1205
Skat air-cushion landing craft. Most of Moscow locals thought the former Soviet frigate towed in 2003 via inland waterways would be a new part of the open-air naval museum.
According to information available to
, frigate
Druzhny was not meant to become a museum after termination of her service career. A group of investors purchased the ship at the price of scrap and financed retrofitting into an entertainment center named
745 (in fact, a floating restaurant and casino to cruise along the River Moscow). The casino ship was supposed to stay at the Frunzenskaya Riverwalk, but the architectural concept design was not realized due to number of reasons. Main obstacle was the federal law prohibiting gambling beyond special areas; Moscow is not among such places. So far, there is no other information about future of frigate
Druzhny.
