The commissioning and flag-hoisting official ceremony was held July 12 at the B.E. Butoma Shipyard, in the city of Kerch for the Karakurt-class missile corvette "Tsiklon" (Project 22800), the Ministry of Defense press office said.
The ceremony was held under the auspices of the Russian Navy’s Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Evmenov.
The official ceremony was attended by Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, Acting Minister of Industrial Policy of the Republic of Crimea Elena Elekchyan, Head of Kerch Administration Svyatoslav Brusakov and Head of the Municipality Olga Solodilova.
Speaking at the ceremony Admiral Nikolai Evmenov highlighted the professionalism and skills of the Kerch shipbuilders and presented the distinguished factory workers with the medal “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S.G. Gorshkov.”
According to naval tradition, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov handed over the naval ensign to the commander of the ship.
This ceremony has become a kind of starting point for the service of the FAC "Tsiklon" and its crew. By order of the Commander-in-Chief, the ship was commissioned into service with in the Black Sea Fleet.
Admiral Nikolai Evmenov noted at the ceremony that "the ship will strengthen the surface component of the Black Sea Fleet and will effectively fulfill the tasks for its intended purpose as part of the detachments and groupings of the fleet."
The FAC "Tsiklon" became the first warship in the last 25 years for the Kerch Shipbuilding Plant that passed the full cycle of construction at the enterprise, including a series of sea trials.
The development of repair, technical and service documentation for Project 22800 FACs was developed by the 51st Central Design and Technological Institute of Ship Repair of the Russian Defense Ministry.