| Achong Tanjong |
HUGE crowds flocked to Muara Port to attend the open day of the Russian Pacific Fleet missile cruiser ‘Varyag’, yesterday.
‘Varyag’ is one of the premium class Russian-guided missile cruisers. The warship joined the Pacific Fleet in 1990 and reentered the service in early 2008 after an overhaul.
The event from 9.30am till 3pm allowed the public to go onboard the missile cruiser where they were briefed by personnel on the roles and functions as well as equipment available at the ship.
Buses were also provided for public convenience during the open day.
Meanwhile, a group of 12 students from the Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) Sultan Saiful Rijal Campus School of Aviation also visited the ship as part of the school year-end activity.
The ship is on a friendly visit to the Sultanate after visiting ports in Japan, Korea and China. Together with large anti-submarine ship ‘Admiral Panteleev’ and tanker ‘Boris Butoma’, it will remain at the Muara Port until today.
According to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Brunei Darussalam, the flagship of the Russian Pacific Fleet visit marked another remarkable event in Russia-Brunei military ties.
The main objective of the mission is to strengthen ties with countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The cruiser carried out a combat training exercise as part of the tactical drills in the Sea of Japan and fired Bazalt cruise missiles against a sea shield simulating a notional enemy’s surface ship last April.