Ukraine's Slavutych participates in International Naval Review 2000
by Roma Hadzewycz
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Bearing the ancient name of Ukraine's mighty Dnipro River, Slavutych, the Kamchatka class command and control ship of the Ukrainian Navy, arrived in New York harbor for the International Naval Review 2000.
The Slavutych, 106 meters in length, with a beam of 16 meters
and a displacement of more than 5,000 metric tons.
Roma Hadzewycz
The visit marked only the second time that a Ukrainian naval vessel had been in the United States. The first historic visit was in September 1996 when the Hetman Sahaidachnyi, a frigate that is the flagship of the Ukrainian navy, arrived at the U.S. Naval Base in Norfolk, Va. The Sahaidachnyi and the troop deployer Kostiantyn Olshanskyi were the first ships of independent Ukraine to show the Ukrainian colors in a U.S. port.
The Slavutych, whose keel was laid in Mykolaiv in 1988, was completed in 1992. On July 28, 1992, the vessel ceremoniously raised the Ukrainian state flag. In November 1994 it took part in NATO's Maritime Partner exercises, while in July 1998 it visited Croatia, Turkey and Bulgaria, participating in the Breeze 98 exercises off Bulgaria. In 1999 the Sahaidachnyi and the Slavutych visited the Israeli port of Haifa.
A view of the stern, featuring the trident (tryzub) emblem
of Ukraine,
as crew members assemble on the aft deck. The naval ensign of Ukraine
flutters in the breeze. In addition to the flag of Ukraine and the naval
ensign,
the Slavutych flew the standard of the brigade commander.
Roma Hadzewycz
The ship's captain is 2nd Capt. Oleksii Kysiliov, its brigade commander and the commander of this mission is 1st Capt. Ihor Teniukh. Also on board was Maj. Gen. Anatolii Pakhlia, deputy commander of the Ukrainian navy.
Lt. Cmdr. Serhii Nechyporenko, assistant naval attaché at the Embassy of Ukraine, characterized the Slavutych's participation in the International Naval Review as "truly a historic event," underscoring that the Slavutych was the only military ship from Eastern Europe to participate in the celebration, which attracted ships from more than a dozen countries.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 16, 2000, No. 29, Vol. LXVIII
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