Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk23/2021

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at noon of June 12

Weekly Sitrep

Little naval activity was reported through open sources and all activity was related to the transiting of several vessels towards the Mediterranean. This drop in reported naval activity could be related to the large scale naval exercises held by the Northern and Pacific Fleets.
It is unknown if the Pavel Silaev will replace the Grachonok harbor protection boat already in operations in Tartus. If not, than Russia will operate two of these vessels which could indicate a higher security risk against Russian vessels stationed in Tartus. These harbor protection boats are designed to operate against irregular forces such as small groups of saboteurs or divers.

Daily Events

June 08
Rescue tug Sergei Balk and Grachonok class patrol boat RFS Pavel Silaev were heading into the Bosporus for a transit to the Mediterranean but later turned around and returned back towards the Black Sea. The RFS Pavel Silaev was towed by the rescue tug [1].

June 09
Russian news agency TASS and the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that rescue tug Sergei Balk and Grachonok class patrol boat RFS Pavel Silaev are transiting the Bosporus and are heading towards the Mediterranean [2] [3].
Passage through the Bosporus was later confirmed with Sergei Balk still towing the RFS Pavel Silaev [4].

Tapir class landing ship RFS Saratov also passed through the Bosporus later during the day. The vessel is doing another supply run towards the Russian naval base at Tartus, Syria [5].

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