Project 12700 Aleksandrit Class
Aleksandr Obukhov Fleet Minesweeper

Project 12700 vessels with a fiber-glass hull are designed to detect and destroy mines at safe distances on naval base territory. This project was developed in the St. Petersburg Design "diamond" bureau. The main distinguishing feature of the ships of this project is the fact that their body is not made of metal but of reinforced fiberglass. The use of fiberglass instead of steel has not only significantly reduce the weight of the ship, while maintaining its strength, but also seriously reduce the level of physical fields, which are triggered maritime influence mines.

Project 12700 "Alexanderite" ships are designed to find and destroy mines in the waters of the naval bases at a safe distance for the vehicle. Displacement of the vessel is 890 tons, length - 61 meters, width - 10 meters, the speed at full displacement - 16.5 assembly crew - 44 people. To combat the mines ship can use different types of trawls, as well as remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicle.

The first ship was laid down in 2011 and launched in 2014, with a total of four vessels set to be built at that time. The defense ship of the project 12700 was designed CMDB "Almaz" and is a new generation of anti-mine defense ships (CSI), in the construction and design of which SNSZ and CMDB "Almaz" have accumulated a lot of experience. On the basis of this experience and advanced world trends in the field of anti-mine defense provided the formation of a mine circuit with the latest, high-performance sonar, placed both on the ship and on remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles, integrated bridge system, the main command post - the automated control systems mine action activities. However, the ship is able to use the traditional sweeping arms.

Sredne-Nevskiy Shipyard (SNSY, member of United Shipbuilding Corporation), launched a new generation minesweeper on 27 June 2014, IAA PortNews was informed by the shipyard. The lead ship of project 12700 was built for the RF Navy. The ship would join the Northern Fleet of RF Navy in the IV quarter of 2015. Another base type minesweeper of project 12700 for Russian Navy was to be delivered in 2016.

Sredne-Nevskiy Shipyard (Saint-Petersburg) was founded in 1912. It has already built over 500 ships and vessels to 43 different projects for RF Navy and foreign customers. Currently, the shipyard builds missile boats, minesweepers, passenger and work vessels of different purposes and is getting ready for a large-scale construction of the new generation mine countermeasures ships for RF Navy and foreign customers. JSC "Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard" - the leader composite shipbuilding in Russia and the country's only company that mastered the construction of ships and vessels of the 4 types of materials: composite materials, shipbuilding, low-magnetic steel, aluminum and magnesium alloys. The company has mastered modern technology of manufacturing structures of composite materials by vacuum infusion. For more than 100 years of Mid-Nevsky Shipyard has built more than 500 ships, of which more than 200 units of this sea and inshore minesweepers various projects, including the set for export to 13 countries. Since 1937, the plant is essentially a monopoly in the domestic construction of warships mine defense.

Lead minesweeper "Alexander Obukhov" was founded September 22, 2011, launched in the summer of 2014. In 2014, the Mid-Nevsky Plant signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence for the construction of three serial ships of this project. Under the terms of their surrender is planned in the period from 2016 to 2018. The Alexander Obukhov was named after a famed Soviet fleet boat commander and hero. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Viktor Chirkov said “a great deal is to be done to learn how to use the sophisticated equipment of the ship.”

The second ship of the series, "George Kurbatov," was laid down ["founded"] in the spring of 2015. It is named in honor of Hero of the Soviet Union Georgy Kurbatov, who during the Second World War he was involved in the sinking of the six enemy ships, 20 mine productions and 15 landings sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The ceremony of laying the thirdmine defense ship was scheduled for spring 2017.

In St. Petersburg at the Sredne-Nevsky shipbuilding plant in the Kolpino district caught fire on 08 JUne 2016 under construction for the naval fleet ship anti-mine defense “Georgy Kurbatov”. The causes of fire were not yet clear. What exactly was burning, had to be established, since the hull itself is non-flammable. According to preliminary information, the fire heavily damaged the inner lining of the trawler, reports the Agency “Interfax” According to journalists, to fire elimination involved 20 pieces of equipment and 100 personnel of the Ministry. The first fire Department arrived on the scene at 19:35 local time. In the building of one of the shops lit up the inner lining of the ship under construction.

Order 522 is the first production trawler of the project 12700 “Georgy Kurbatov” for the Russian Navy, built by JSC “Sredne-Nevsky shipbuilding plant”. It was originally planned that the ship would be launched in late July 2016 and in the summer of 2017, the ship will be released to the test vessel delivery to the Navy scheduled for September 2017.

Construction for the Russian Navy minesweeper project 12700 "George Kurbatov," which caught fire at a shipyard in St. Petersburg, will continue and be delivered to the customer in time - in the autumn of 2017, according to press secretary of "Mid-Nevsky Shipyard" Alexander Malakhov. "According to the director of the plant, the ship will be delivered in time to the customer, ie the fall of 2017 because of a fire on the ship did not have the technical equipment", - Malakhov said, noting that because of the lack of equipment in the course of ship construction this incident could not have great impact.

The Chairman of the Industry Committee of the northern capital Maxim Meyksin reported that the launch, scheduled for the end of July, will be postponed. According to MOE, the fire in the newly built boat took place inside of plating on an area of 600 square meters. The fire was given the rank #3 (out of 5). As reported by the Department of Press Service and Information Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The ship had not been transferred to the Ministry of Defence. "The ship is in the initial stage of construction Ship weapons systems were not established ship was scheduled to be transferred to the Navy in 2017..." It was planned to lower the water at JSC "Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard" on 29 July 2016. According to plans, the following year the ship was to go to tests.

Mid-Nevsky Shipyard (SNSZ, part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) on 25 January 2017 laid the ship mine defense of the new generation for the Russian Navy. As the press-service of the enterprise, on the orders of the High Command Naval Fleet of the Russian Federation, the ship under construction assigned to the actual name of sea trawler "Ivan Antonov". Offshore trawler "Ivan Antonov" was the second ship of the series, the construction contract which was signed with the Ministry of Defense in April 2014.

In St. Petersburg, the shipyard "Mid-Nevsky Shipyard", on 20 April 2017 laid down new ship mine defense for the Russian Navy, the press-service of the enterprise reported. By order of the Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Korolev, being built on SNSZ ship was named after the outstanding Russian shipbuilder, the former director of the Mid-Nevsky Shipyard Vladimir Yemelyanov.

Production plans for this class are a bit difficult to understand. In 2014, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the country’s Navy would receive new minesweepers by 2019 under project 12700. In 2014, the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard signed a contract for the construction of three series of ships of this project. The company's management announced the possibility of building one composite ship per year. Thus, the entire series will be transferred to the Navy in 2018 to Russia. Around 30 minesweepers are expected to join Russia’s Navy by 2050, a deputy Russian defense minister said 27 June 2014. “The shipbuilding program, approved by the president in May, envisages building around 30 minesweepers by 2050,” Yuri Borisov said at a ceremony in St. Petersburg to introduce the lead mine countermeasures vessel of the project. Borisov said the employees of the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard, where the ceremony was held, have a “stable future.”

Russia contracted for another seven Project 12700-class coastal minesweepers for its Navy, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Adm. Vladimir Korolev said 09 December 2016. This would suggest the total number under contract by the end of 2016 was 14 vessels. "We have definitely planned and already contracted for another seven vessels within this project, in the long-term perspective we are planning to [contract] for more than 40 vessels within this project," Korolev said at a handover ceremony of the Alexander Obukhov minesweeper to the Navy.

Russia's Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard, part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), will supply the Russian Navy with a new Alexandrit-class (Project 12700) Ivan Antonov minesweeper in 2018, the shipyard's press service said 31 July 2017. "According to the agreement with the [Russian] Defense Ministry, Ivan Antonov will be handed over to the Russian Navy in 2018," the press-service said in a statement. According to the statement, the vessel's floating is set for spring 2018.

The newest mine defense ship project 12700 "Ivan Antonov" was transferred to the Russian Navy. The solemn ceremony of the first ascent of the naval flag on the ship, which will serve as part of the Crimean naval base of the Black Sea Fleet, was held on 26 January 2019 in Baltiysk, the main base of the Baltic Fleet.

“George Kurbatov”, laid in April 2015, was seriously damaged in the fire in the factory in June 2016, after which the hull of the unfinished “George Kurbatov” was sent for restoration. The third serial trawler should be “Vladimir Emelyanov”, laid in April 2017.

At a rate of one vessel per year, thirty would be delivered by 2045, and forty by 2055. Vladimir Tryapichnikov, head of the shipbuilding department of the Russian Navy, said that the fleet expects to receive 40 fiberglass trawlers of the project 12700 by 2030–2050.

The Russian Navy plans to include about 40 anti-mine defense (PMO) ships of the project 12700 until 2030. This was announced on 30 April 2019 by the commander-in-chief of the Navy, Admiral Vladimir Korolev, at a meeting on surface shipbuilding. "Serial construction of mine defense ships is carried out within the framework of the development and re-equipment of mine-trawling forces of the Navy. Until 2030, the Russian Navy plans to have about 40 ships of the PMO project 12700," he said.