MOSCOW, August 21 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Navy will receive 10 advanced search-and-rescue ships and boats by the end of this year to boost its sea rescue capability, a Navy official said Wednesday.
Delivery of new advanced search-and-rescue vessels is vital for the Russian Navy as it still lacks reliable means to rescue submarines and ships in distress.
“Construction of the Igor Belousov rescue ship and the Viktor Konetsky rescue tugboat is being completed,” said the head of the Navy’s search-and-rescue service, Capt. 1st Rank Damir Shaikhutdinov.
According to Shaikhutdinov, the Baltic Fleet will receive four advanced rescue boats while three multipurpose rescue vessels will be commissioned by the Black Sea Fleet.
“The Caspian Flotilla will soon receive an SB-45 rescue boat,” the official said.
Since the Kursk nuclear submarine tragedy in 2000, when Russia had to rely on the assistance of Norwegian divers to reach the vessel buried on the ocean floor at the depth of 108 meters, the Russian Navy has acquired a number of foreign-made deep-sea rescue equipment.
At present, all Russian fleets have British-built Panther Plus and Tiger submersibles in service.
