Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk51/2020

Task Force composition










Auxiliary ships












Outbound





General Events

December 15
Ropucha class landing ship RFS Novocherkassk and Tapir class landing ship RFS Saratov transited the Bosporus during the morning and entered the Black Sea. RFS Novocherkassk passed first around 05:00Z, followed 15 minutes later by RFS Saratov. Both vessels have been traveling together since they left the port of Tartus on December 11. [1] [2]

December 16
Grigorovish class frigate RFS Admiral Essen completed the K-1 training course while deployed in the Mediterranean. The K-1 training course normally takes place in the harbor and is set up to prepare new recruits for life on board of warships. The course teaches new recruits the ships organization, how to prepare the vessel for cruising and warfare as well as how to conduct damage control while the vessel is moored. These basic skills are needed to ensure that the vessel can be deployed safely at sea.
The crew of the RFS Admiral Essen also trained in defending the ship against sabotage, maintaining the weapons and maritime systems and loading weapons and ammunition. [3]

December 19
Repair vessel PM-82 of the Baltic Fleet held a port call at Limassol, Cyprus, where she replenished her fuel and water supplies before heading off towards the port of Tartus. The vessel is reported to rrive at Tartus on December 20 [4]. The vessel was seen on commercial satellite imagery while she was docked at Limassol. The imagery was made available by twitter user @OSINT_1 [5].

The same imagery also showed the Kilo class submarine RFS Stary Oskol and her escorting rescue tug Captain Gurev in a location west of Crete and south of mainland Greece. [5]

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