Mistral-class helicopter carrier Sevastopol appears in AIS under French Flag

Mistral-class helicopter carrier Sevastopol has been registered in the automatic identification system, AIS, under the flag of France. 

According to AIS, the ship which is 199 meters long and 32 meters wide is located in Sen-Nazer, where she was built.

The EUR 1.2 bln contract to supply two Mistral-class ships was signed between the French shipbuilding company DCNS and Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport in June of 2011.

The first ship, the Vladivostok was to be delivered to Russia in 2014 with the second one, the Sevastopol, to arrive in 2015. Though he United States were against the delivery, DCNS insisted that the sanctions imposed on Russia by the USA would not hinder the construction and transfer of Mistral ships.

In mid September, France threatened Russia to suspend the supply of the helicopter carriers associating the decision to the crisis in Ukraine.  Later, a French government spokesman told RIA Novosti that the delivery of the ship is not officially suspended and that French President Francois Hollande was simply outlining his political stance. Hollande stated he would not approve of the transfer of the vessel in November should the situation in Ukraine not improve.

Mistral-class helicopter carriers have a displacement of 21,000 t, hull length max - 210 m, speed max - 18 knots, range max – 20,000 miles. Mistral’s air wing consists of 16 Ka-52K helicopters.

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