Three Russian Naval Ships arrive at the Port of Colombo

Three Russian naval ships arrived at the Port of Colombo on a goodwill visit on 06^th June 2014. The ships are “Marshal Shaposhnikov”, “Irkut” and “Alatau” belonging to the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy. They were welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in accordance with naval traditions on their arrival.

“Marshal Shaposhnikov” is an anti-submarine ship commanded by Captain 1^st Rank Dmitriy V. Paschenyuk. It is 162.8 meters in length and has a displacement of 7,595 tons. The ship’s complement consists of 38 officers and 321 seamen.

“Irkut” is a replenishment ship commanded by Sergey M. Litvinenko. It is 130 meters in length and has a displacement of 11,140 tons. The ship’s complement consists of 63 personnel. “Alatau” is a salvage tug commanded by Dmitriy N. Sivkov. It is 92.7 meters in length and has a displacement of 4,080 tons. The ship’s complement consists of 89 personnel.

Commander of the group of ships, Rear Admiral Vladmir A. Dmitriev and ships’ Commanding Officers paid a courtesy call on Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage of the Sri Lanka Navy at the Naval Headquarters in Colombo. They held cordial discussions and exchanged mementos as a gesture of goodwill. The Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy also returned a courtesy call on the Russian ships as a gesture of goodwill.

The visiting Russian ships will stay in Sri Lanka until 08^th June. The ships’ complements are scheduled to participate in a special programme organized by the Sri Lanka Navy during their stay in Sri Lanka.