Ukrainian Frigate Hetman Sahaidachny Heads Home

Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny has successfully completed an operational tour with the EU Naval Force and is now sailing towards her home port of Sevastopol in the Ukraine.

The Ukrainian frigate joined the EU Naval Force on Friday 3 January 2014, after first deploying with NATO’s counter- piracy Operation Ocean Shield in the same region.
During her time with EU Naval Force, Hetman Sahaidachny carried out counter-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and Western Indian Ocean and conducted a number of friendly approaches with local seafarers and fishermen in order to better understand their concerns. The friendly approaches were also an opportunity to inform the seafarers about the EU Naval Force and the on-going piracy threat.
At the beginning of February, the Ukrainian warship held a successful joint counter-piracy exercise with South Korean Navy warship. One of the last operational activities that the Ukrainian frigate carried out was to provide much-needed protection to a stricken vessel in the piracy high risk area.

This was the first time that the Ukraine has participated in an EU maritime operation. Talking about the experience, the commander of the embarked Ukrainian contingent, Rear Admiral Andrii Tarasov, stated “It has been a great honour to be the first Ukrainian warship to contribute to the international efforts against piracy.”

HETMAN SAHAYDACHNIY (U130) SPECIFICATIONS
Length	123m
Beam	14.2m
Draught	4.7m
Displacement	3,100 long tons (3,150 t) standard 3,510 long tons (3,566 t) full load
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Complement	180 crewmembers
Range	3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph) 900 nmi (1,700 km; 1,000 mi) at 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Status	In active service, as of 2013

Press Release, February 28, 2014, 2014; Image: EU Navfor