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HANOI, HO CHI MINH AT ADMIRALITY SHIPYARD

Vietnam is about to receive its second of six Russian Varshavyanka-class submarines, the HQ-183 Ho Chi Minh City.

The vessel departed St. Petersburg-based Admiralty Verfi Shipyard heading to Kaliningrad, where it will be loaded onto a large ship bound for a naval base in Vietnam, Russia’s news agency Interfax-AVN reported.

Having passed all technical tests earlier this month, verified in a document signed on January 16, 2014 at the shipyard, the submarine is expected to arrive in Vietnam in six weeks.

The third submarine of the class, dubbed HQ-184 Haiphong, hit the water in Russia on August 28, 2013, and is slated for delivery later this year.

The 3,100-ton submarines are described as almost undetectable when submerged. They boast of cutting-edge stealth technology and can engage targets both on land, surface and underwater.

In 2009, Vietnam’s Defense Ministry ordered six Varshavyanka-class submarines under a two-billion-dollar arrangement due for delivery by 2016.

Naval Today Staff, January 23, 2014; Image: Borysfen Intel