Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk03/2025

Task Force Composition
As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jan-18

Weekly Brief
The Russian Task Force remains in a holding pattern of the port of Tartus, Syria, awaiting permission to enter the port and starting the evacuation. Cargo vessels Sparta and Sparta II spend their time sailing racetrack patterns near Tartus.

The question is how long the Russians can maintain their presence of Tartus. The Ropucha class landing vessel Alexander Otrakovsky allegedly suffers technical breakdowns with a a broken water desalination system and two leaking fuel tanks. So far, the vessel has not been observed docked within Tartus for the necessary repairs, raising questions on how much longer the vessel can remain at sea with limited fuel and drinking water.
The fleet oilers are currently the only means of keeping the Russian vessels supplied with refueling operations observed on January 14th.

Oceanographic research vessel Yantar departed the Mediterranean after an observation of the wreckage site of the MV Ursa Major that sank on December 24th.

Daily Events
January 11
Oceanographic research vessel Yantar arrived in Algiers, Algeria, for a three day port visit [1].

January 12
Ropucha class landing vessel Alexander Otrakovsky reportedly has a broken water desalination system while operating of the coast of Syria [2]. Its second and third fuel tanks are allegedly also leaking [3].

January 13
Russian cargo vessel Sparta II arrived near the port of Tartus, joining the cargo vessel Sparta [4].

January 14
Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus, Syria, revealed the presence of frigates Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Golovko, amphibious landing vessel Ivan Grenn and Kaliningradneft class fleet oiler Vyazma. Also visible were the cargo vessels Sparta and Sparta II as well as civilian oiler General Skobolev [5].

January 15
Oceanographic research vessel Yantar is operating in the area where MV Ursa Major sank [6].

January 17
Oceanographic research vessel Yantar was visually observed in the Strait of Gibraltar during the afternoon, heading towards the Atlantic Ocean [7].

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