December 26 keel-laying for Project 12700 minesweeper

A keel-laying ceremony will be held for another Russian Project 12700 minesweeper at St Petersburg’s Sredne-Nevskiy Shipyard on December 26.

Named after the Soviet Union hero, the fibreglass-hulled Yakov Balyayev was designed by Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau.

The life cycle of the lighter monolithic-fibreglass hull is said to be longer than that of the low-magnetic steel.

The Aleksandrit-class vessels are designed to use tele-guided and autonomous undermanned underwater vessels to disable or destroy mines.

The 61-metre-long vessels, which have an operating speed of 16.5 knots, have a range of 1,600 nautical miles and endurance of 10 days.

Crewed by 45 people, the minesweeper is powered by an 1864kW diesel engine, two 315kW diesel generators and two 210kW diesel generators.