Ukrainian naval vessel to participate in Fourth of July festivities (06/25/00)

Ukrainian naval vessel to participate in Fourth of July festivities

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - A Ukrainian naval vessel will enter U.S. territorial waters for only the third time ever when the staff ship of the Ukrainian navy, the Slavutych, arrives in New York on July 3 to take part in Fourth of July celebrations.

The ship will be part of the International Naval Review 2000, which is being organized in New York in special millennium year celebrations that will also include a visit by the Operation Sail 2000 flotilla. The flotilla is currently, sailing up the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

After the July 4 ceremonies, which are expected to be attended by U.S. President Bill Clinton, the staff ship will remain docked in New York until July 9. On July 5-9 the ship's crew will take part in cultural and sporting events in the area.

The Slavutych will join two other private Ukrainian ships in New York Harbor for the grand Fourth of July festivities that will include a parade of ships and a tall ships exhibit, besides the annual New York City fireworks display near the Brooklyn Bridge. The other two vessels are the 27-meter schooner, the Batkivschyna, which is currently on the East Coast, with the OpSail 2000 flotilla, and the racing yacht, Ikar, which is scheduled to arrive in New York after a cross-Atlantic regatta.

The Slavutych voyage is part of ongoing joint-cooperation programs between Ukraine's Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The 106-meter-long frigate is the main administrative vessel of Ukraine's relatively small Black Sea Fleet based in Sevastopol. It will be carrying a crew of 129 sailors led by 1st Capt. Ihor Taniukh. The ranking officer on board will be Maj. Gen. Anatolii Pakhlia, who is the second-in-command of the Ukrainian navy.

The Slavutych left Sevastopol on June 2 and will make ports-of-call in Gibraltar and Ponta Delgada in the Azore Islands before arriving in New York. It will be the first visit to the United States for the Slavutych. In 1996 the Hetman Petro Sahaidachny, the flagship of the Ukrainian navy, and the troop deployer, the Kostiantyn Olshansky, traveled to Norfolk, Va.

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