Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk25/2022

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jun 24


Weekly Brief

The Russian task force in the Mediterranean has eased its combat stance with only one surface action group operating at sea by the end of the week and a second one being stationed at the Syrian port of Tartus. Observation of the vessels at Tartus suggest that the SAG group anchored at Tartus is the one of the Pacific Fleet, based on the absence of the Northern Fleet's frigate Admiral Kasatonov and the presence of the Pacific Fleet's oiler Boris Butoma.

Daily Events

June 18
The AIS signal of fleet oiler Vyazma was last reported southeast of Cyprus. The vessel departed the port of Tartus on June 16th and is on a course of 244 degrees with a speed of 10.7 knots.


June 21
Fleet oiler Vyazma was observed at 0910Z on commercial satellite imagery operating south of Crete. The oiler was sailing in front of a Slava class cruiser indicating that she was refueling the cruiser from the stern. The identity of the cruiser was not confirmed but is speculated to be the Varyag of the Pacific Fleet [1].

June 24
Several Russian warships were observed on satellite imagery of the Syrian port of Tartus. These vessels included one Improved Kilo class submarine, PM-82 Amur class repair vessel, an unidentified Udaloy class destroyer, the admiral Grigorovich class frigate Admiral Grigorovich, Buyan-M class corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Aleksandrit class minesweeper Vladimir Emelyanov and rescue tug Sergei Balk [2].
Several other vessels were reported at anchor outside the port, these included an unidentified Slava class cruiser, logistic support vessel Vice-Admiral Paromov and fleet oiler Boris Butoma [3].

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 - Wk20/2024

Image
Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of May-18 Weekly Brief A significant reduction in combat strength took place with the departure of Northern and Baltic Fleet warships as well as the Buyan-M class corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo. This leaves the task force reduced to a detachment of the Pacific Fleet and the frigate Admiral Grigorovich.  The departure also included the two amphibious landing vessels, thus resulting in an end to maritime weapon shipments for Russian mercenary forces stationed in Libya. Daily Events May 11 Civilian oil tanker Okeansky Prospect entered the Mediterranean during the afternoon via the Strait of Gibraltar [ 1 ]. Weapons runner Sparta IV was anchored near Malta and would stay there until May 13th. Frigate Admiral Grigorovich was observed sailing near Sparta IV [ 2 ]. May 12 Logistic support vessel Vice-Admiral Paromov was observed entering the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar at 10.45 local time [ 3 ]. Russian oil tanker Vladimir Mon
Read more

Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk36/2024

Image
Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Sep-07 Weekly Brief Fleet oiler Akademik Pashin, most likely escorted by the frigate Neustrashimy, unexpectedly departed the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. Their destination was not reported though several Russian interests are present in the region such as Sudan, Yemen and Iran. A long term Indian Ocean deployment appears to be unlikely since these deployments are almost always handled by vessels of Russia's Pacific Fleet. Improved Kilo class submarine Novorossiysk has been closing in on the Strait of Gibraltar. The submarine and her escorts could be entering the Mediterranean in Week 37. Daily Events September 02 Fleet oiler Akademik Pashin is reported 120 to 140 nautical miles from the entrance of the Suez Canal. The vessel is escorted by an unidentified frigate [ 1 ]. September 03 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus confirmed the presence of Improved Kilo class submarine Ufa, frigate Admiral Grigorovich, Stere
Read more