So what's so interesting about one Russian ship leaving its base? Well the Admiral Chabanenko was one of the Russian warships that last fall sailed to Cuba and Venezuela, the Russian Navy's longest cruise since the end of the Soviet Union. It also happens to be the most modern destroyer in the Russian Navy. After returning to its homeport in Kaliningrad, the Admiral Chabanenko was suppose to undergo a major overhaul of its engines, something that was suppose to take until the end of February to finish. But instead, according to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency, hurried repairs were completed in a few days and the Admiral Chabanenko set sail on Tuesday.
The Russian Navy said the Admiral Chabanenko was heading to the Mediterranean for combat training, but that seems like a strange reason to put off major repairs. Other sources say the ship could be heading for the coast of Somalia to join another Russian warship already engaged in anti-piracy operations, but even that seems to be an odd reason to postpone a major overhaul, surely there are other ships that can take on the poorly equipped Somali pirates.
It will be interesting to see where the Admiral Chabanenko winds up.
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