Crimean Port City Sevastopol Ready to Host Mistral Helicopter Carriers

Adm. Igor Kasatonov, the former head of the Black Sea Fleet, said that the Crimean city of Sevastopol could host Mistral helicopter carrier.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Crimean city of Sevastopol is ready to host Mistral helicopter carriers as all works related to shipyard construction are finished, Adm. Igor Kasatonov, the former head of the Black Sea Fleet, said on Friday.

“Of course, the issue of hosting a ship like Mistral helicopter carrier in Sevastopol was being resolved. We were preparing for it. The first [ship] was supposed to go to Vladivistok, the second one – to Sevastopol. We were working there and there. It [ship] has deep immersion. We were working on fixing the dock and deepening the bed in Kurinnaya Bay, in particular,” Adm. Kasatonov said.

The admiral added that Russia cannot build such ships in such short terms at the moment.

The delivery of two Mistral-class assault ships to Russia was agreed under a $1.5 billion deal between Russian state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport and French shipbuilder DCNS, signed in 2011.

France was expected to deliver the Vladivostok, the first of the two ships, by November 14, 2014. However, on November 25, 2014, French President Francois Hollande stated that the shipment would be suspended due to alleged interference by Moscow in the Ukrainian crisis.