Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk13/2025

Task Force Composition
As reported by OSINT at the morning of Mar-29

Weekly Brief
The Russian Navy appears to be reusing Tartus as a logistic base for its Mediterranean operations. Satellite imagery shows fleet oiler Vyazma present in Tartus. The fleet oiler most likely is refueling in order to support other Russian vessels operating at sea.
It seems unlikely that Russia will regain full access to the naval base at Tartus at this moment but port visits and replenishment stops might be allowed as they allow for a source of revenue for the Syrian Government.

Two Russian tankers were also reported recently delivering crude oil to the port of Banayas in recent days.

It appears that Russia and Syria have made an agreement regarding oil and fuel deliveries. The continuation of crude oil deliveries by Russia to Syria is not a surprise. Syria needs fuel to keep its economy and society going and finds it difficult to trade with other partners while Russia is looking for buyers for its crude oil.
The oil refinery at Banayas is also tooled to handle Russian crude oil. Shifting to different crude oil would require recalibration of the refinery, which is a technical and complex operation. Continuing to use Russian crude oil would ensure the continuation of refined fuel deliveries to the Syrian economy without risking harm to the refinery.

Daily Events
March 25
Oil tanker Sakina, loaded with Russian crude oil, arrived at Banayas and delivered her cargo to the local refinery [1].

March 29
Satellite imagery shows the fleet oiler Vyazma docked at Tartus, Syria.

Popular posts from this blog

The Russian Navy and the fall of Tartus

With the fall of the Al-Assad regime in Syria, the Syrian rebels allegedly gave Russia 48 hours to vacate their military presence in the naval base at Tartus and the Khmeimim airbase. It seems unlikely that Russia can broker a diplomatic deal to remain present in Tartus. It is expected that Russia will have to vacate its naval presence somewhere at the beginning of week 50. As such, the Russian Navy will now have to look what options, if any, it has to maintain some sort of maritime presence in the Mediterranean. Why Tartus mattered The geographic location of Tartus made it an important strategic position for Russia. Located at the very end of the Eastern Mediterranean it was in a region where NATO/western maritime presence was limited compared to the Western and Central parts of the Mediterranean. The closest maritime base of importance for NATO is located at Souda Bay, Crete, which is located at the transition from Central to Eastern Mediterranean. Operating from Tartus meant tha...
Read more

Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk49/2024

Image
Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Dec-07 Weekly Brief The Russian Mediterranean Task Force appears to have made a demonstration in force before the departure of the frigate Admiral Gorshkov to her homeport. On December 2nd and 3rd, the entire task force departed the port of Tartus for a large scale naval exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean. The exercise was supported by coastal defense batteries and naval aviation and focused on coastal defense and surface warfare. Given the involvement of several services and the availability of a dedicated simulated surface target, it appears that this exercise was planned and coordinated in advance. This contradicts the general narrative of Week 49 where it was stated that the Russian task force was evacuating the port of Tartus given the fast advance of Syrian rebels in Northern Syria. The behavior of the Russian task force corresponds with previous observed patterns during moments of crisis in the region. The Russian ...
Read more

Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk48/2024

Image
Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Nov-27 Weekly Brief A new intelligence collection vessel, the Yantar, has entered the Mediterranean. Since the vessel operates without an escort, a refueling stop at Algiers was expected in order for the vessel to reach the Eastern Mediterranean. The vessel is designed as an oceanographic vessel meaning that she is specialized in mapping the undersea environment. Russia uses these vessels to locate and map underwater infrastructure such as data cables. Over the next months, the Yantar will be operating in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. Daily Events November 25 Intelligence collection vessel Yantar passed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean [ 1 ]. November 26 Sanctioned Russian cargo vessel Lady Mariia passed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Atlantic Ocean. The vessel is known for transporting weapons and military equipment [ 2 ]. November 27 The intelligence collection vessel Yantar reportedl...
Read more