Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk40/2021

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at noon of October 09


Weekly Brief
With the arrival of the small tanker Vice-Admiral Paromov, the task force has a limited capacity for extended operations in the Mediterranean though the absence of a dedicated repair vessel remains.

Daily Events

October 03
Project 03182 support vessel Vice-Admiral Paromov has entered the Black Sea by passing through the Bosporus [1] [2]. The vessel was supposed to transit on October 02 but heavy petro-chemical traffic through the Bosporus resulted in the VTS to postpone her transit.  The vessel can serve the role of a light tanker but is limited to refueling ships either docked or at anchor and lacks the capabilities of conducting an underway replenishment [3].
Vice-Admiral Paromov will support the vessels of the Mediterranean Task Force [4] [5].

October 05
Ropucha class landing vessel RFS Tsezar Kunikov moved back into the Black Sea during the morning hours. Her passage in the Bosporus was reported at 05:30Z [6] [7].

Buyan-M class missile corvette RFS Vyshniy Volochek passed through the Bosporus and entered the Mediterranean [8] [9] [10]. The vessel will replace the RFS Ingushetia [11].

October 07
Rescue tug Captain Gurev started her passage through the Suez Canal during the morning hours and entered the Mediterranean [12]. The vessel previously supported a Russian dive team during the Glubina/Depth-21 military exercise near Iran. This exercise was part of the wider Army Games. The Rescue tug previously also supported the Gremyashchiy class frigate RFS Gremyashchiy and the Improved Kilo class submarines RFS Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and RFS Volkhov in the Red Sea. The vessel is currently heading towards the Turkish Straits and join the Black Sea Fleet [13].
The transit through the Suez Canal was completed around 1700Z [14].

October 08
Moma class intelligence collection vessel RFS Kildin passed the Bosporus during the morning hours and entered the Mediterranean [15] [16].

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