Russian amphibious assault ship Vladivostok

Vladivostok docked at Saint-Nazaire, December 2014
History
Russia
Name: Vladivostok
Ordered: June 2011
Builder:
Laid down: 1 February 2012
Launched: 15 October 2013[1]
Commissioned: 2015 (intended)
Status: Sea trials completed, contract cancelled
Egypt
Acquired: 23 September 2015[2]
Status: to be delivered in March 2016
General characteristics
Class & type: Mistral-class amphibious assault ship
Displacement:
  • 16,500 tonnes (empty)
  • 21,300 tonnes (full load)
  • 32,300 tonnes (with ballasts)
Length: 199 m (653 ft)
Beam: 32 m (105 ft)
Draught: 6.3 m (21 ft)
Installed power: 3 × Wärtsilä 16V32 (3 × 6,200 kW)
Speed: 18.8 knots (34.8 km/h; 21.6 mph)
Range:
  • 10,800 km (5,800 nmi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
  • 19,800 kilometres (10,700 nmi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Armament:
Aircraft carried:
Aviation facilities: Helicopter deck and hangar

Vladivostok is an amphibious assault ship of the French Mistral class built for the Russian Navy, which underwent some sea trials.[5] Subsequently the contract was cancelled by France and agreement on compensation reached with the Russian government. The ship will be purchased by Egypt instead. [6]

History

The Russian government placed an order for the ship in 2011. The construction of the ship would be shared between the countries with France building about 60 percent and Russia 40. Work started in France, in Saint-Nazaire, on 1 February 2012 and in the Russian Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in St. Petersburg in October 2012. Russia would send its parts to France for final assembly.[7] The ship was expected to join the Russian Navy in 2015.[8][9][10][11] The ship was launched on 15 October 2013.[12] The ship began its first sea trials on 5 March 2014.[13][14]

Savings in construction costs were anticipated, due to the use of commercial off the shelf (COTS) parts, rather than requiring every system to be designed to military standards.[15][16]

The Russian acquisition of French Mistral-class amphibious assault ships is considered to be the largest defense deal between Russia and the West since World War II.[17]

The 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine triggered rising international criticism.[15][16] France was under political pressure from other nations to sanction Russia by cancelling or suspending delivery of the two Mistral-class vessels.

On 3 September 2014, French President François Hollande released an announcement that France was suspending the delivery of Vladivostok to Russia due to the ongoing War in Donbass, Ukraine.[18][19]

By 13 September 2014, a partial ceasefire was in place in Ukraine. This improvement in conditions in Ukraine was sufficient for French authorities to allow Vladivostok to go to sea for her acceptance trials.[20] French Defence Ministry sources said a decision on the delivery of Vladivostok would be taken by mid-November.[21] On 25 November, it was announced that delivery of the two ships was to be postponed indefinitely. Russia threatened legal action over the postponement.[22] In August 2015 the two governments reached agreement on terms for cancelling the contract; France would keep the ships and fully reimburse Russia.[23]

According to France 24, Egypt and Saudi Arabia were interested in buying Vladivostok and/or Sevastopol.[24]

According to Euronews France has sold both ships to Egypt. [25]

References

  1. ↑ "France Floats Out First Russian Mistral Warship | Defense | RIA Novosti". En.ria.ru. 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  2. ↑ Regan, James (23 September 2015). "Hollande, Sissi agree on sale of Mistral warships to Egypt". Paris. Reuters. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  3. ↑ DP-65 antisaboteur grenade launchers
  4. ↑ "Russia’s Mistrals will be rapid response ships - News - Society - The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video". :. 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  5. ↑ "Mistral : sortie en mer du "Vladivostok" à Saint-Nazaire, des marins russes à bord" (in French). clicanoo.re. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Egypt agrees to buy warships built for Russia from France". BBC. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
  7. ↑ 01.10.2012. "First Mistral Laid Down at Baltiysky Zavod Shipyard". Rusnavy.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  8. ↑ "Russian Navy to Receive Mistral Warship in 3 Years | Defense | RIA Novosti". En.rian.ru. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  9. ↑ John Pike. "Russia signs $1.7 bln deal for 2 French warships". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  10. ↑ "Vladivostok, Russian Navy future Mistral class LHD, specificities and characteristics(Navy recognition)". 17 March 2013.
  11. ↑ "Russia Moves Mistral Stern Construction to France". 21 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "DCNS launch Vladivostok, Russian Navy's first Mistral class LHD(Navy recognition)". 16 October 2013.
  13. ↑ News Desk. "Vladivostok - Mistral Class LHD Bound for Russia Begins Sea Trials in the Atlantic". Defense Update. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  14. ↑ "Official: Delivery of First Mistral class LHD Vladivostok on hold until November". 3 September 2014.
  15. 1 2 Stephen Daly (April 2014). "French Amphibious Warfare Ships for Russia? Economic Sanctions, Coincident Procurement Opportunities, and the Mistral Class LHDs". Canadian American Strategic Review. Archived from the original on 2014-09-06. Retrieved 2014-09-15. Then there is the possibility of poking Vladimir Putin in the eye by taking over ownership of the Sevastopol.
  16. 1 2 Jim Dorschner (September 2014). "A Tale of Two Ships: Turning Russia's Loss into a Mistral Bounty for NATO and Canada – 'NATO Naval Ship Alliance' and 'HMCS Resolute'". Canadian American Strategic Review. Archived from the original on 2014-09-15. The September 2014 decision by France to withhold delivery of two Mistral class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), being built for Russia, represents a tremendous opportunity for the NATO alliance, for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), and even for a French shipbuilding industry and economy that might otherwise lose out.
  17. ↑ "France, U.S. Discuss Russian Mistral Carrier Query | Defense News". defensenews.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  18. ↑ "Ukraine crisis: France halts warship delivery to Russia". Archived from the original on 2014-09-14. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  19. ↑ Dennis Lynch (2014-09-03). "Ukraine Crisis: France Suspends Delivery Of Warships To Russia". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 2014-09-15. France will not move ahead with the delivery of the first of two Mistral amphibious assault ships to Russia because of Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine, the office of President François Hollande said in a statement Wednesday.
  20. ↑ "Mistral : sortie en mer du "Vladivostok" à Saint-Nazaire, des marins russes à bord" [Mistral: at sea of "Vladivostok" in Saint-Nazaire, Russian sailors on board] (in French). Le Journal de la I'île de la Réunion. 2014-09-13. Archived from the original on 2014-09-15. Initialement prévu mercredi puis reporté de quelques jours, le départ en mer du "Vladivostok" était suivi sur le port de Saint-Nazaire par seulement un peu plus d’une dizaine de curieux, en présence de Bernard Grua, responsable du collectif "No Mistrals for Putin", hostile à la livraison du navire.
  21. ↑ "Mistral delivery to Russia to be approved by mid-November". ITAR TASS. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  22. ↑ "Russia Mistral: France halts delivery indefinitely". BBC News Online. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  23. ↑ "Mistral warships: Russia and France agree compensation deal". BBC News. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  24. ↑ http://www.france24.com/en/20150807-france-mistral-warship-egypt-saudi-arabia-repurchase
  25. ↑ http://www.euronews.com/2015/09/23/france-sells-its-mistral-helicopter-carriers-to-egypt/
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