Pacific Fleet Task Force leaves Sri Lanka

Today, a task force of the Russian Pacific Fleet left the port of Colombi, Sri Lanka. The task force was made up of the Slava class cruiser RFS Varyag, the Udaloy class destroyer RFS Admiral Panteleyev, and the RFS Boris Butoma sea tanker. The commander of the task force was identified as Rear-Admiral Eduard Mihailov. The ship commanders were reported to be Captain Yureivich Ulyanenko, Captain Vitalievich Antsiferov and Captain Alexandrovich Bondar.

The task force arrived at the port of Columbo on December 21 a part of a three month long deployment of port visits and exercises in the Pacific Rim region. The commanding officers of the task force held meeting with Rear-Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne of the Sri Lanka Navy during the four day port visit.

RFS Admiral Panteleyev

Is is important to notice that the task force was not accompanied with an ocean going sea tug as is custom to deployments made by the Black Sea and Northern Fleets. This could indicate that the ships of this task force are mechanically in a more reliable state compared to other capital ships of the Northern and Black Sea Fleets. Another explanation could be that maintenance within the Pacific Fleet is at a higher and more proficient level compared to other Russian fleets. One should no forget that the RFS Varyag was commissioned in 1989 and the RFS Admiral Panteleyev in 1992. Both ships are thus 29 and 26 years in service respectively. A general rule of thumb with naval vessels is that once they pass a 25 year life circle, ships are becoming more and faster prone to mechanical breakdowns.

The task force left Vladivostok on October 1 and is reported to arrive back at its naval base by the beginning of January. Regarding this time frame and distances involved, it is expected that the task force will now return directly towards Vladivostok.

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