The Russian missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov, accompanied by the rescue tug SB-406 and the sea tanker Vyazma, crossed the equator from the Southern to the Northern hemisphere of the Earth, says press center of RF Defence Ministry. After leaving the sea of the Republic of South Africa, a detachment of ships and vessels of the Northern Fleet covered more than 2,000 nautical miles.
Sailors replenished fuel and water reserves from a tanker and practiced several naval exercises to repel attacks of airborne assets of a mock enemy, to counteract possible attacks by small-sized high-speed boats, and also carried out a passing search for submarines.
In the near future, a detachment of ships and vessels of the Northern Fleet, led by the Marshal Ustinov, will move north along the coast of the African continent. The long-range voyage of the military sailors will continue for about two more months.
On July 3, the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov left Severomorsk to take part in the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg. After the parade, its crew took part in Ocean Shield 2019 Navy training.
For two months, the ship operated in the Mediterranean Sea, where it conducted a series of exercises, visited Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. In the Atlantic Ocean, Russian sailors made business calls at the ports of Praia of the Republic of Cape Verde and Malabo Equatorial Guinea.
At the end of November, Northern Fleet sailors conducted the first ever joint Russian-Chinese-South African exercise on ensuring the safety of navigation and marine economic activity. It was attended by frigates of the naval forces of the People's Liberation Army of China Weifang and the naval forces of South Africa Amatola, as well as auxiliary vessels of the Navy of South Africa.
From the beginning of the long voyage, the ships and vessels of the detachment have covered about 28,500 nautical miles.