Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk17/2021

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at noon of May 01

Weekly Brief

Limited naval activity was observed by the Russian task force with most vessel still in harbor at the end of week. One Improved Kilo class submarine was not in port on April 30 and is most likely conduction training in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Daily Events

April 25
Oil tanker Yaz transited the Bosporus during the early morning hours and headed towards the Black Sea [1]. The vessel is heading from Baniyas, Syria, towards the port of Kavkaz

Ropucha class LST RFS Novocherkassk transited the Bosporus around 0530Z and returned to the Black Sea [2].

April 26
Oil tanker Sig passed through the Bosporus during early morning and headed into the Black Sea [3]. The vessel departed Baniyas in Tartus and is heading towards the Russian port of Kavkaz.

April 28
Intelligence collection vessel Vasiliy Tatishchev is reported in the Port of Sudan with the Amur class repair vessel PM-138 expected to arrive during the morning hours [4].

April 30
Several Russian warships were seen on satellite imagery of the port of Tartus. These vessels were identified as an Improved Kilo class submarine, the frigate RFS Admiral Grigorovich, a Project 21980 patrol boat and the Olemka class oiler RFS Iman. Buyan M class patrol vessel RFS Orekhovo Zuevo was seen outside the harbor [5].

Flot.com reported that a floating dock might be deployed in the port of Tartus, Syria, in 2022 in order to expand the repair and support capabilities of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean [6]. Deployment of such a floating dock would severely increase the repair capabilities at Tartus, which are currently only limited to capabilities of the Amur class repair vessels and shoreside repair facilities.

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