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].

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