Russia's Admiral Essen heading back to Sevastopol

The Black Sea Fleet’s frigate Admiral Essen has accomplished missions as part of Russia’s permanent Mediterranean taskforce and has set off for its home base in Sevastopol, the Russian Black Sea Fleet spokesman Alexei Rulev said.

"The warship has started to pass through the Black Sea’s Dardanelles and Bosporus straits, heading for the Black Sea Fleet’s permanent naval base - the city of Sevastopol," TASS cited the spokesman as saying.

Rulev recalled that the frigate Admiral Essen performed missions as part of Russia’s permanent Mediterranean taskforce from August 2018, spending about 300 days at sea. 

During its stay as part of Russia’s Mediterranean Squadron, the Admiral Essen took part in the inter-fleet drills in the Mediterranean Sea under the direction of the Russian Navy commander-in-chief, during which the warship’s crew practiced conducting a battle by a sole ship and as part of a naval group. The frigate also held artillery fire against naval and air targets and practiced anti-submarine warfare.