The Russian Navy frigate Neustrashimy, accompanied by the replenishment vessel Akademik Pashin, arrived in Cape Town on Thursday 3 September, in time for the SA Navy Festival this weekend.
The two vessels were seen south of Sharm el Sheikh on 4 September and left the Red Sea on 6 September, according to ship spotters. Their destination was not clear until they arrived in South Africa, docking in Simons Town.
It is almost certain the vessels will take part in the SA Navy Festival scheduled to take place in Simons Town from 4 to 6 October. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy was sending the frigate CNS Xuchang to participate in the Navy Festival but it’s not clear if it has arrived yet.
The Neustrashimy was launched in May 1988 and commissioned in January 1993. She is the lead ship of Project 11540 Yastreb (Hawk) and since 1991 has been part of the Baltic Fleet. Neustrashimy was modernised two years ago, with upgrades to navigation, surveillance, target detection and weapons systems, amongst others.
The vessel is 129 metres long and displaces 3 505 tons standard and 4 318 tons at full load. Power is provided by two 24 300 shp (18 100 kW) M90 and two 12 100 shp (9 000 kW) M70 gas turbines arranged in a combined gas turbine and gas turbine (COGAG) installation, giving a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 km/h) and range of 4 500 nautical miles (8 334 km). The ship’s complement is 210, including 35 officers.
Armament comprises a 100 mm main gun, two Kashtan close in weapon systems, four Kinzhal surface-to-air missile launchers, 533 mm torpedo tubes, and a Smerch-2 anti-submarine rocket launcher. A helicopter can be carried on the aft helipad (a hangar is available).
The Akademik Pashin is a replenishment oiler of Project 23130 and the lead vessel of the class. The vessel was launched in May 2016 and is the first replenishment oiler commissioned with the Russian Navy since the end of the Cold War. The ship is named after the Hero of the Russian Federation Valentin Pashin and assigned to the Northern Fleet. The vessel is 130 metres long and displaces 5 000 tons at standard load and 14 000 tons at full load. It is powered by two diesel engines giving a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h) and range of 8 000 nautical miles (15 000 km).
Neustrashimy, along with the training ship Smolny and tanker Yelnya, completed an unofficial visit to Havana, Cuba in July this year.
The Neustrashimy and Akademik Pashin are the latest Russian vessels to stop in South Africa in recent months – on 29 August the Smolny, a Russian Navy Baltic Fleet training vessel, arrived in Cape Town for replenishment and resupply while on what was said to be “an unofficial visit” to South Africa. She departed on 1 September.
She is currently on what the Russian Navy fleet press service says is a long range voyage conducting “maritime practice for cadets of naval educational institutions of Russia’s Ministry of Defence”. Previous unofficial port calls were Havana in Cuba and La Guaira, Venezuela.
On 25 September the Smolny concluded a visit to Douala, Cameroon, after stops in Walvis Bay (Namibia) and Luanda (Angola). “Each of these visits was an important step in strengthening international ties and exchanging experiences between naval personnel,” the Russian Navy said.
