Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk10/2021

Task force composition

As reported by OSINT on the morning of March 14

Weekly Brief

Russian naval forces inside the Mediterranean have been substantially reinforced with the arrival of the Improved Kilo Class submarine RFS Rostov-on-Don on the afternoon of March 07 and the return of the frigate RFS Admiral Grigorovich and patrol vessel RFS Dmitri Rogachev from their Indian Ocean deployment. Another change in the task force composition is the arrival of the small tanker RFS Iman and the departure of the rescue tug SB-739. It is unusual for these rescue tugs to leave the Mediterranean without escorting a warship. 
The fact that the patrol vessel RFS Dmitri Rogachev was refueling from the sea tanker RFS Vyazma the day after it passed through the Suez Canal, rather than from the SB-739, might suggest that SB-739 has encountered mechanical problems which prevents her from supporting warships. RFS Iman could thus be deployed to the Mediterranean to take over the escorting duties of SB-739.

With the Us Navy Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group operating in the eastern Mediterranean [a], naval activity of Russian task force is expected to remain high with Russian warships monitoring the movements of the US carrier group.

Daily events

March 08
Russian rescue tug SB-739, presumably escorting the Bykov class patrol vessel RFS Dmitri Rogachev, passed through the Suez canal and entered the Mediterranean around 1300Z [1]. Grigorovich class frigate RFS Admiral Grigorovich was reported to be sailing together with the SB-739 and RFS Dmitri Rogachev [2] and passed through the Suez Canal as well.

Olekma class replenishment tanker RFS Iman of the Black Sea Fleet transited the Bosporus during the night and headed towards the Mediterranean [3].

Gorhskov class frigate RFS Admiral Kasatonov entered the port of Limassol, Cyprus, for a port visit which will last until March 10 [4]. The vessel will take on fuel, food and water during her stay and allow the sailors to take a break from their duties.

March 09
Commercial satellite imagery detected the rescue tug Nikolay Chiker, Kaliningradneft class sea tanker RFS Vyazma and Bykov class patrol vessel RFS Dmitry Rogachev at anchor near Port Said, Egypt [5]. RFS Dmitry Rogachev is moored alongside RFS Vyazma, suggesting that the vessel is being refueled by the tanker.

The AIS signal of rescue tug SB-739 was last recorded southeast of Rhodes, Greece with the vessel heading northwest towards the Aegean Sea [6].

March 13
Rescue tug SB-739 was seen transiting the Bosporus and returning to the Black Sea around 0530Z [7].

The AIS signal of rescue tug Prof Nikolay Muru, escorting the improved Kilo class submarine RFS Rostov on Don, was detected north of Bizerte, Tunis, during the morning [8]. Several maritime patrol aircraft were patrolling the Strait of Sicily north of the island of Pantelleria in order to track the progress of the Russian vessels [9].

Popular posts from this blog

Russian Naval deployments during the Ukraine War

Image
March 17, 2022 At least six Russian warships were observed near Odessa. The warships maintained their distance and operated on the horizon. March 16, 2022 Several vessels entered the port of Sevastopol including the patrol vessel Vasily Bykov. The Bykov was rumored to be struck and sunk by a Ukrainian grad MLRS barrage near Odessa on March 07 dough this was never officially confirmed.  The visual confirmation of the vessel entering the port of Sevastopol undamaged indicates that if an MLRS attack took place, it did not struck the Bykov. Ropucha class landing vessel Kondopoga of the northern fleet allegedly also entered the port of Sevastopol. March 15, 2022 Several Russian warships and landing ships were spotted on commercial satellite imagery during the morning hours. The vessels were heading in the direction of Odessa.  The vessel leading the formation of landing ships appears to be minesweeper with her sweeping array deployed. During the evening, around 90 missiles were reported fir
Read more

Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk42/2023

Image
Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Oct-21 Weekly Brief The task force continues to operate at sea with its maximum capacity it can deploy. Both corvettes are most likely covering the US naval deployments of the Gerald R. Ford carrier task force with fleet oiler Yelnya regularly sailing out of Tartus to refuel the vessels at sea. Daily Events October 14 Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar and the rescue tug Sergey Balk were visually observed passing through the Strait of Gibraltar and exiting the Mediterranean [ 1 ]. October 17 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus only showed the fleet oiler Yelnya present inside the harbor [ 2 ]. October 18 A radio signal belonging to the fleet oiler Yelnya was intercepted, placing the vessel in a position of 34.9° North, 35,8° East; just outside the port of Tartus [ 3 ].
Read more

Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk41/2023

Image
Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Oct-14 Weekly Brief The Russian task force has been responding to the new situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the arrival of a US Navy carrier task force in the region. AGI vessel Kildin is keeping track of the carrier movements. At the same time, both corvettes departed Tartus, support by the Amur class repair vessel PM-82. Both corvettes most likely form a counterbalance to the US Navy presence and project power is support of local allies though the projected combat power falls far short of the deployed US maritime power in this region. Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar has been steadily heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar, escorted by rescue tug Sergey Balk. Both vessels will most likely transit on October 14th during the night to prevent visual observation. Daily Events October 09 Fleet oiler Yelnya replenished the Momo class intelligence collection vessel Kildin in a postion halfway Crete and Mersa Matr
Read more