Official launching ceremony of first serial Project 22460 littoral patrol ship Brilliant (serial number 502) took place at JSC Almaz Shipbuilding Firm in St. Petersburg.
The event was attended by St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko , Director General of JSC Almaz Shipbuilding Firm Leonid Grabovets , Director of Northwest Frontier Department and other officials.
The ship left new covered slipway at noon of Nov 24 and placed on the floor of PD-455 floating dock. FSB officer Yevgenia Lotsmanova became the ship’s sponsor and smashed traditional bottle of champagne against the board.
Due to technical problems, the newly-built ship was not launched to the Malaya Neva River on that day, told a source in the shipyard to Central Navy Portal.
That was done on the next day, Nov 26. After launching and mooring at the yard’s quay, the ship will undergo outfitting works; the shipwrights will mount armament systems, radioelectronics and general-purpose equipment.
Patrol ship Brilliant will spend winter at the shipyard and is expected to start sea trials in spring 2012. When they are finished, the ship will be commissioned into Coast Guard of Russian FSB Frontier Service. Most probably, Brilliant would be based in the Black Sea.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , November 29, 2011; Image: almaz