Habaneros to board Russian training ship docked in Cuba

Havana, July 28 (RHC) The population of this capital city will be able to board today the training ship Smolniy of the Russian Federation's Baltic Fleet, which is visiting Cuba, informed the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR).

Anchored in the Havana port, together with the patrol boat Neustrahimiy and the offshore oil tanker Yelny - also from that armed grouping - the vessel will be accessible to the public from 12:00 to 16:00 (local time) and on Monday from 12:00 to 18:00, the MINFAR said.

The flotilla arrived at the Havana port the day before and will remain there until July 30, during which time its sailors will carry out a program of activities that includes courtesy visits to authorities of the Revolutionary Navy and the Government of the capital.

They will also make tours of places of historical and cultural interest in Havana.

Rear Admiral Oleg G. Gúrinov, commander of the Russian naval detachment, thanked the Cuban authorities the day before for the opportunity to make a stopover on the island.

We are grateful for the possibility given to our crews to rest, especially considering that we have already sailed more than 3,000 miles, said Gurinov on board the Smolniy training ship.

We hope that during this stop the sailors will be able to get acquainted with the culture and get closer to the glorious history of Cuba, he added.

According to the Rear Admiral, the visits of Russian naval detachments to Cuba “have become a noble tradition” and their main purpose is “to strengthen cooperation in the naval sphere”.

They are possible thanks to the special relations between Cuba and Russia. Our collaboration is based on friendship, reciprocity and mutual trust, and we trust that it will continue in the future, he said.

Our arrival takes place when Cuba celebrates the National Rebellion Day, and we are together with the Cuban people on the second day of these celebrations, he said.

This Sunday is the anniversary of the Russian Navy, which will be celebrated with a naval parade in St. Petersburg, so it is also a holiday for us, said the commander of the group of ships.

More than 240 midshipmen arrived on the Smolniy and come from the Russian Navy training centers, where they undergo four types of training, especially in the navigation system.

Before the docking maneuver in the capital's harbor, one of the Slavic country's ships fired 21 cannon salutes as a sign of greeting, which was reciprocated with equal denotations from an artillery battery of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, located in the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress.

These visits of naval units from other countries are a historical practice of the Cuban revolutionary government with nations with which it maintains friendship and collaboration, he said previously.

These visits of naval units from other countries are a historical practice of the Cuban revolutionary government with nations with which it maintains friendship and collaboration, the Minfar previously stated in a press release.

On June 12, a group of ships of the Russian Navy also docked in this capital, made up of the frigate Gorshkov, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, the fleet oil tanker Pashin and the salvage tug Nikolai Chiker. (Source: Prensa Latina)