Politburo member and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi and other officials of the capital visited officers and sailors of Brigade 189 and those on the Hanoi submarine at the Cam Ranh port in coastal Khanh Hoa province on January 9.

Nghi congratulated the crew of the HQ 182-Hanoi submarine, the first attack submarine of Vietnam, on its first successful voyage on January 8.

He said he strongly believes that the staff will stay strong, contributing to soundly protecting Vietnam’s territorial waters, ensuring peace and successfully fulfilling the country’s sea strategy.

The same day, the Hanoi delegation visited the Zone 4 Naval High Command, which is in charge of protecting Truong Sa (Paracel) Archipelago and the country’s territorial sea.

Nghi took the opportunity to wish them a happy Lunar New Year and presented Brigade 189 and the crew of the submarine with a gift worth 1.3 billion VND (61,100 USD), bringing the total aid to the Naval High Command to 54.2 billion VND (2.5 million USD) so far.

The Hanoi-named Kilo-636 submarine is currently anchored at the Cam Ranh port since its arrival on January 3 after a six-week voyage from Russia’s St. Petersburg.

It is the first of the six diesel-powered 636 Varshavyanka (kilo)-class submarines Vietnam bought from Russia to enhance its navy’s capacity of defending the country’s territorial waters.

Having a displacement of 3,000-3,950 tonnes, the 73.8 m long submarine can operate at a maximum depth of 300 metres and at a range of 6,000-7,500 nautical miles for 45 days and nights with 52 crewmembers. It has the quietest engine in the world and is the best choice for reconnaissance and patrols.-VNA