Two days later, a group organized by long-distance navigator Levan Katiba brought a number of vessels across the Gumista River. In Gudauta, the formation of a fleet was organized by Kuchkan Enik, who served from 29 August as head of the coast guard. By order of Colonel Sosnaliev, who was the Chief of Staff of the State Committee for Defense, Enik was given the right to appoint specialists and take sea boats throughout the Gudauta District. In September, Katiba began to form the Navy in the city of Pitsunda from floating seacraft, which at that time were in the hands of local Abkhaz militias. It originally consisted of 25 sailors, with Katiba being the first commander. Abkhaz sailors had a role in blocking he naval communicatons of the Georgian Armed Forces during the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993). On 20 September 1993, a Tu-154 was shot down from a boat by a gunner of the Atar Battalion. A day later, a Tupolev Tu-134 passenger plane flying from Sochi was shot down over the sea (killing 22 civilians and 5 crew members, including journalists from Russia and the European Union) and the day after, two Tu-154 planes carrying Georgian Special Forces personnel from Tbilisi were shot down by the Ablhaz fleet. The "Komsomolets of Abkhazia" and "Sukhum" carried out humanitarian transport to Sochi for Abkhaz refugees as part of a POW exchange program. On 12 November 1992, personnel of the Gudauta Coast Guard Base began to be deployed to the main naval base while transferring a boat and a Project 343ME Volga glider at the same time.