Russia hands over first submarine to VN

Illustration photo

The document to this effect was signed on the same day in Saint Petersburg by Viet Nam’s Deputy Commander of the Naval High Command and Chief of Staff of the Naval Service Pham Ngoc Minh and Russia’s General Director of the Admiralty Shipyard Alexander Buzakov.

The first submarine, named Ha Noi, will now be transported to Viet Nam.

Viet Nam ordered six submarines, dubbed “black holes in the ocean” in 2009 during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s official visit to Russia.

The Project 636 class boats displace 3,100 tons, reach speeds of 20 knots, can dive to 300 meters and carry crews of 52 people, the RIA Novosti reported Thursday.

By Thuy Dung