permanent base for Russian warships in the Middle East. In early May 2010 Pyotr Velikiy met up with the cruiser in the South China Sea. There they conducted joint exercises and held a traditional farewell ceremony on 5 May. The two vessels were due to arrive in Russia's Far Eastern port of Vladivostok to take part in the Vostok-2010 large-scale strategic exercise. On 29 September Pyotr Velikiy returned to its home base in the Northern Fleet after six months at sea. The flagship of the Northern Fleet had covered about since the beginning of the mission on 30 March. 2013 During early September 2013 Pyotr Velikiy led a flotilla of Russian Navy ships through the Russian portion of the Northern Sea Route in preparation for establishment of regular patrols. 2014 Pyotr Velikiy along with the aircraft carrier and the tankers Sergey Osipov, Kama and Dubna; the tugboat Altay, and the Ropucha-class landing ship Minsk (122) entered the English Channel to sail north. The British destroyer monitored the Russian task group as it neared the United Kingdom. Once the ships spotted each other they sailed briefly close by as a standard 'meet and greet'. Pyotr Velikiy participated with Chinese frigate Yancheng (546) and western vessels in the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons. 2016 In May 2016 Pyotr Velikiy put to sea for the first time in two years for drills off the coast of Northern Russia. On 15 October Pyotr Velikiy left Severomorsk to escort Admiral Kuznetsov to the Mediterranean along with supply ships and two Udaloy class destroyers, Severomorsk and Vice-Admiral Kulakov. They were heading to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Syrian government forces battling rebel troops in Aleppo. Pyotr Velikiy passed through the Norwegian Sea and the English Channel, along with the rest of the Russian Northern Fleet on 21 October, shadowed by the British destroyer HMS Dragon. 2017 On July 17., 2017 Pyotr Velikiy left Severomorsk together with Dmitry Donskoy, a support vessel and a frigate to participate in the Russian Navy Day celebrations in Kronstadt. The convoy went through Storebælt, the only Danish strait deep enough for the Donskoy. 2019 On 6 April 2019, the ship entered Barents Sea with cruiser Marshal Ustinov and several nuclear submarines. On 10 October 2019, she went into Barents Sea with some 15 other warships, submarines, and auxiliary ships to conduct large-scale drills. 2020 On 29 May 2020, she went to