Keel Laying for Russia's Final Project 12700 MCM Vessel.

A gala ceremony was held at Sredne-Nevsky shipyard in St. Petersburg to lay an Alexandrite-class minesweeper of project 12700.

The Petr Ilyichev is the last of six Project 12700 MCM vessels procured for the Russian Navy. Picture: Curious / forums.airbase.ru

"We are beginning the construction of the sixth (fifth series) Petr Ilyichev warship of project 12700. It is a pleasure to build it in new workshops. The shipyard is developing. We shall create an excellent series of good, high-quality warships and the lead Alexander Obukhov minesweeper will this year participate in the Navy parade," shipyard CEO Vladimir Seredokho said.

Petr Ilyichev was the Hero of the Soviet Union. The minesweeper has to be handed over to the customer in November 2020. Minesweepers of project 12700 have the biggest fiberglass hull in the world. It is highly durable against steel hulls and ensures better survivability. The service life of monolith fiberglass hull is longer than that of low-magnetic steel and the weight of the hull is considerably lower. The displacement is close to 900 tons, the length is over 60 meters and the width is 10 meters. The speed is 16.5 knots. The crew comprises 44 men.

Sredne-Nevsky shipyard is currently building the Georgy Kurbatov, the Ivan Antonov, the Vladimir Yemelyanov and the Yakov Balyaev minesweepers.

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