Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk36/2021

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at noon of September 11


Weekly Brief
The Russian task group of three Improved Kilo class submarines have been slowly transiting from west to east with the group passing south of Cyprus on Saturday morning. Frigate RFS Admiral Essen has been reported at sea halfway the week when she practiced replenishment at sea. With her location unreported at the end of the week, it is unknown if she acts as an additional escort for the Russian submarines.
The position of the remaining large surface combatants also remained unreported. However, with the Akademik Pashin last reported on September 3 and heading to Tartus, it is presumed that the RFS Vice-Admiral Kulakov and RFS Gremyashchy are most likely operating near Tartus.

Daily Events
September 05
Aleksandrit class minehunter RFS Vladimir Emelyanov passed the Bosporus and transited to the Black Sea. The transit took place during the morning hours [1] [2].

September 06
Tapir class landing vessel RFS Orsk entered the Mediterranean by passing through the Bosporus. The vessel is heading towards the Russian naval base at Tartus, Syria [3].

September 07
Training vessel RFS Smolny reentered the Mediterranean as it transited the Bosporus. The vessel carriers several naval cadets during a training cruise and is expected to be heading from Sevastopol towards Baltiysk [4].

Sentinel-2 imagery of the Russian naval base at Tartus showed several Russian warships in port. One to two Kilo class submarines and the Buyan-M class corvette RFS Ingushetia were identified [5].

September 08
Grigorovich class frigate RFS Admiral Essen is reported at sea where she did a replenishment at sea during the night. The vessel took on supplies of ammunition and food during this replenishment. The vessel also worked out the actions needed for guarding and defending the vessel while at anchor in an unprotected anchorage [6].

The AIS signal of rescue tug SB-742 was reported south of Crete with the vessel heading east towards Tartus. The rescue tug is escorting three Improved Kilo class submarines [7].

September 10
Oceanic research vessel Ladoga of the Seliger class passed through the Bosporus and entered the Black Sea. The vessel was build at the Pella shipyard near Saint Petersburg and is operated by the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, also known as GUGI [8]. The transit took place around 04:00Z.

September 11
The AIS signal of rescue tug SB 742 was reported south of Cyprus at 08:55 local time. The vessel is escorting the Improved Kilo class submarines RFS Volkhov, RFS Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and RFS Krasnodar. The task force was on an eastern course with a speed of 7.3 knots.
Given her speed and location, this group could reach Tartus during the morning of Sunday September 12.



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