Russian Border Guards Exercise Near Vladivostok

Coast Guard units of the Russian Federal Security Service’s Border Service have been on exercise in the Peter the Great Gulf. Participants in the North Pacific Coast Guard Forum, now underway in Vladivostok, watched the exercise. In the exercise scenario, border guard units intercepted and stopped a “terrorist” ship during a simulated “combat” operation.

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© RIA Novosti . Vitalii Ankov

The exercise involved the coast guard patrol ships Herluf Bidstrup and Skipper Geck. The latter simulated the ship Repun, which was seized by terrorists. The coast guard ship Primorye and commando units also took part in the war games. Colonel General Vladimir Kulishov, Head of the Russian Federal Security Service’s Border Service, commanded the exercise. As part of the exercise scenario, terrorists seized a merchant vessel, which was subsequently detected by the coast guard ships.

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The terrorists did not respond to international signals and orders to stop the ship.

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The border guards had to fire warning shots, but even this did not persuade the terrorists to stop.

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After the terrorists ignored all signals to stop, the border guards decided to board the ship.

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The operation also involved combat swimmers who sneaked toward the ship and seized it.

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Foreign guests watching the exercise were surprised to see combat swimmers in action. The Russian team showed this element of counter-terrorist operations for the first time.

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Foreign guests watching the exercise were quite impressed with the well-coordinated performance of the combat swimmers who swam under the ship and climbed up the opposite side.

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The combat swimmers have climbed aboard the terrorist-controlled ship and are carrying out a reconnaissance.

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The border guards had to use force after the terrorists refused to negotiate.

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A commando has neutralized a terrorist on the merchant ship’s bridge.

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A commando guards the captured terrorists, preventing any escape attempts.

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During the assault, one terrorist triggered an explosive device, which started a fire, but the blaze was quickly extinguished.

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The attack part of the exercise was to have been supported by a helicopter, but it did not show up due to bad weather.