Russian minesweeper Yakov Balyaev arrives in Murmansk ready for state trials.

It is reported that on August 19, 2020, a new sea minesweeper Yakov Balyaev of project 12700 arrived in Murmansk, making the transition by tug from the Baltic to its permanent base in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where factory sea trials and state tests will be carried out.
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Launching at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant in St. Petersburg, on 01/29/2020 of the Yakov Balyaev. (Picture source: Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding JSC)

The transfer of the minesweeper "Yakov Balyaev" from Kronstadt around Europe to Murmansk and further by the Northern Sea Route to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is carried out by the sea tug "Antey" of the Russian company "Northern Alliance" LLC. The caravan, according to known data, departed from Kronstadt on August 3 and passed the Baltic straits on August 6. Arrival to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is expected by the end of September.

It is interesting to note that the Antey tugboat, acquired by Northern Alliance LLC in Panama, arrived in St. Petersburg only on June 26, and the towing of the Yakov Balyaev minesweeper to the Far East became the first voyage for the tug under the Russian flag.

The Yakov Balyaev is the fourth minesweeper built by Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard. The Alexander Obukhov lead minesweeper became operational in 2016. The Ivan Antonov was handed over to the Navy in late 2018. The Vladimir Yemelyanov third minesweeper joined the Navy in December 2019. The shipyard is building three minesweepers of project 12700 — the Georgy Kurbatov, the Petr Ilyichev and the Anatoly Shlemov.

Minesweepers of project 12700 have the biggest fibreglass hull in the world. It is highly durable against steel hulls and ensures better survivability. The service life of monolith fibreglass 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. The ship can operate various flails and remotely guided and unmanned underwater craft.

Arrived in Murmansk, the Yakov Balyaev sea minesweeper of project 12700 (serial number 525), making the transition in tug from the Baltic to the place of permanent basing in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 19.08 .2020. (Picture source: Gogs / forums.airbase.ru)