Russian Destroyer to Undergo Maintenance Works in Syria: Northern Fleet

Russian destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov has stopped in a Syrian port of Tartus to carry out planned repair works. The vessel completed its navigation exercises including responses to enemy submarine detection.

MOSCOW, December 2 (Sputnik) — The Russian Navy's Vice-Admiral Kulakov, an Udaloy-class destroyer, entered the Syrian port of Tartus on Tuesday for weeklong maintenance works, a Northern Fleet spokesman said.

"The stopping of the Russian vessel in Syria will last for about a week. During its stay in the port, the crew will carry out the planned repair works and maintenance of the weaponry and equipment, check the main technical systems and mechanisms for proper work," Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga told journalists.

On Monday, prior to entering Tartus, the Vice-Admiral Kulakov was involved in navigation exercises in heavy shipping traffic conditions. The destroyer's crew also practiced responses to enemy submarine detection.

The Vice-Admiral Kulakov ship was commissioned in 1982 and was on combat duty with the Northern Fleet until March 1991, before being retired for repairs that lasted more than 18 years. The ship returned to the Northern Fleet's main base in the city of Severomorsk in 2010.

The destroyer set sail from the Northern Fleet's main base in Severomorsk on April 15 and has since traveled more than 26,500 nautical miles (almost 50 kilometers), calling at ports in Spain, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta.