Commanders of the Russian training ship Perekop have met with the deputy chief of staff of the Benin Navy, Emile Siemba Sama.
The bilateral meeting focused on military cooperation between the two maritime forces, according to an official statement released by Russia's Baltic Fleet and reported by state news agency TASS.
According to the Baltic Fleet, the two sides discussed matters of bilateral naval cooperation and exchanged practical experience regarding the organization of combat training.
The encounter in Benin follows a series of recent operational movements by the Russian ship along the West African seaboard.
Earlier, the Baltic Fleet reported that the Perekop had carried out joint naval maneuvers alongside vessels belonging to the Nigerian Navy.
In November, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that the ship had sailed from the port of Douala in Cameroon and entered the Atlantic Ocean.
Role of the Smolny Class Training Ship
The Perekop is a Smolny class training vessel constructed to provide long distance sea voyages and instruction for cadet officers from Russian naval academies.
Built at the Szczecin Shipyard in Poland, the vessel entered service during the late 1970s as a specialized platform for teaching seamanship, celestial navigation, and watchkeeping routines in open waters.
The vessel carries specialized instructional facilities, classrooms, and bridge simulators, alongside deck mounted artillery and light defensive weaponry, allowing student sailors to gain practical operating experience.
The Baltic Fleet, headquartered in the Kaliningrad region on the Baltic Sea, serves as one of the oldest formations of the Russian Navy, with its vessels regularly dispatched on training voyages around the globe.
Maritime Cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea
Benin maintains a naval force responsible for monitoring its territorial waters and conducting coastal surveillance across the Bight of Benin in the Gulf of Guinea.
Operating primarily from the coastal city of Cotonou, where the nation maintains its main commercial port, the Benin Navy works to safeguard maritime trade routes and counter illegal activity at sea.
The wider Gulf of Guinea functions as a major shipping conduit for West African petroleum and international commerce, making regional maritime security an ongoing priority for coastal states.
Cameroon's port of Douala, where the Russian vessel docked earlier in the voyage, acts as the primary maritime trade hub for Cameroon and landlocked neighbouring countries in Central Africa.
