Helicopter carrier Vladivostok prepares for 4th sea trial - shipyard
MOSCOW. April 24 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's first Mistral-class helicopter carrier Vladivostok is expected to set sail from the French Atlantic port of Saint-Nazaire on its fourth sea trial in May, a STX France company spokesman told Interfax-AVN on Thursday.
The first three sea trials of the Vladivostok were successful, the spokesman said. The first sea trial took place in early March, the last one on April 8-11, and the next sea trial has been set for May, he said.
The helicopter carrier is expected to undergo a total of six sea trials before it is transferred to the Russian Navy in October 2014, the spokesman said.
These efforts include tests of the ship's systems and crew training, he said.
Several Russian sailors took part in the first three sea trials, he added.
The first Mistral-class helicopter carrier built for Russia, the Vladivostok, was launched on October 15, 2013. It should be transferred to Russia in the autumn of 2014, after which weapons systems will be installed onboard the vessel at one of Russia's shipbuilding plants.
Russian state-controlled arms trader Rosoboronexport and the French company DCNS signed a contract on the construction of the first two Mistral-class helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy in June 2011. Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation became a subcontractor of the French shipyard STX France, based in Saint-Nazaire, as part of the deal.
The Mistral-class helicopter carrier is 199 meters long and 32 meters wide. Its beam is 32 meters, its draught is 6.42 meters and it has a displacement of 22,600 tonnes. The helicopter carrier has a crew of 177 and can take aboard 481 passengers.