Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk52/2020

Task force composition








Auxiliary ships






Note: Several auxiliary vessels were not reported in the past weeks, nor were they visible in several satellite images. This suggest a fault in the starting list when this weekly situation report was first created.

Inbound




Outbound








General information

December 21
Ropucha class landing ship RFS Novocherkassk transited the Bosphorus on her way towards the port of Tartus, Syria. The vessel was observed as heavily loaded. The report of the transit was published during the afternoon. [1]

Rescue tug RFS Captain Gurev was reported in a position south of Rhodes where she turned from an eastward course towards the north around 0750Z [2]. It is unknown of the submarine she was escorting, RFS Stary Oskol, also headed north. If the submarine continues towards Tartus, she is currently without escort as the rescue tug Prof Nikolay Muru was reported in Tartus and tugboat SB-739 was reported near the Dardanelles [3].

The corvette RFS Vasily Bykov was seen at anchor west of the entrance to the Dardanelles. It is unclear if the vessel will proceed towards the Black Sea or is making a rendezvous with other vessels. [4]

December 22
Repair vessel PM-82 arrived in the port of Tartus. The crew of this Baltic Fleet vessel will reportedly take a short rest before commencing their task in providing specialized technical support to the Russian warships operating in the Mediterranean. [5]

Commercial satellite imagery, provided by Twitter-user @OSINT_1, showed several Russian vessels at the port of Tartus, Syria. These vessels were identified as the frigate RFS Admiral Essen at sea together with a Project 21980 Grachonock class anti-saboteur vessel. Just outside the harbor were the Buyan-M class corvette RFS Vyshniy Volochek and the mine-countermeasure vessel RFS Valentin Pikul. Repair vessel PM-82 and rescue tug Prof Nikolay Muru were seen inside the harbor. [6]

December 23
Corvette RFS Vasily Bykov was spotted transiting the Bosphorus and heading towards the Black Sea. The corvette has spent 188 days deployed in the Mediterranean. [7]

December 24
Several warships transited the Bosphorus during the morning, both in as outbound of the Mediterranean. Natya-I class minesweeper RFS Ivan Golubets and rescue tug SB-739 transited northwards towards the Black Sea. [8] [9]

Grigorovich class frigate RFS Admiral Grigorovich transited southwards and headed towards the Mediterranean [10]. Russian Media reports that the vessel will replace the frigate RFS Admiral Essen which has been in the Mediterranean since October [11] [12]

The crew of the repair vessel PM-82 have started their task to provide technical support to the Russian warships operating in the Mediterranean. [13]

December 25
Rescue tug RFS Captain Gurev transited the Bosphorus and headed north into the Black Sea. [14]

December 26
Floating repair vessel PM-138 of the Black Sea Fleet transited the Bosphorus at 05:00Z and headed towards the Mediterranean. The vessel spent a total of 120 days in the Mediterranean. Her task was to provide technical support to the Russian warships operating in the Mediterranean, a task which is currently done by the PM-82 of the Baltic Fleet. [15]

Commercial satellite imagery of Tartus once again revealed that most Russian naval forces continue to stay in port. The frigate RFS Admiral Grigorovich was seen approaching the harbor. The units in port were identified as the LST RFS Novocherkaskk, the submarines RFS Novorossiysk and RFS Stary Oskol, The Buyan-M class corvette RFS Vyshniy Volochek, the PM-82 repair vessel and the project 1559V sea tanker RFS Ivan Bubnov. [16]

December 27
Grigorovich class frigate RFS Admiral Essen was spotted in the Bosphorus heading back into the Black Sea. The frigate spent 89 days in the Mediterranean. [17]

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