A new minesweeper "Semyon Agafonov" was launched in St. Petersburg

The launching ceremony of the new minesweeper “Semyon Agafonov” of project 12700 “Alexandrite” took place at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard (SNZ) in St. Petersburg. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense, TASS reports.

Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy for Armaments, Vice Admiral Igor Mukhametshin, noted during the ceremony that minesweepers of this project successfully perform tasks in all the country’s seas.

Semyon Agafonov became the twelfth ship in the series. The minesweepers of the Alexandrite project are designed to search for and destroy mines at a distance that is safe for the ship. The ships are equipped with modern hydroacoustic stations on the minesweepers themselves and on autonomous vehicles, which make it possible to detect mines in the coastal sea zone.