Caspian Hosts International Naval Games

Warships from the navies of Russia, Iran and Kazakhstan have arrived in Baku ahead of the upcoming Sea Cup 2017 international naval competition, which will be held from August 1-11 in the Caspian Sea territorial waters of Azerbaijan.

Russia’s small missile ship Grad Sviyazhsk and a rescue tugboat SB-45, forming part of the country’s Caspian flotilla, arrived docked at Baku’s waterfront on Sunday. Iran Naval Forces dispatched two missile boats, Peykan and Joshan, while Kazakhstan sent rocket artillery ships named "Kazakhstan" and Sariarka, as well as the hydrographic vessel Zhayik, according to Azerbaijan’s defense ministry.

Sea Cup 2017 consists of three stages:  naval warfare with artillery firing, ship damage control, and crew skills and search-and-rescue contest. During last year’s Sea Cup, Russia came in first place with 192 points, followed by Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, each scoring 185 points. 

Now in its second season, Sea Cup forms the naval portion of the 2017 International Army Games (IAG), a combination of 28 contests including a tank biathlon, airborne platoon and seaborne assaults, already underway and running from June 29 – August 12 in various locations throughout Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and China.

Military forces from more than 25 countries representing Europe, Asia, Africa and South America are participating in the IAG, including four of the five Caspian littoral states, excluding Turkmenistan. Israel, Fiji, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Uganda, Laos and Syria are participating in the games for the very first time.