Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk20/2025

Task Force Composition
As reported by OSINT at the morning of May-12


Weekly Brief
The Russian Navy appears to have established a refueling point northwest of Al Hoceima, Morocco in order to support out of area operations by the Russian Navy. Steregushchy class corvette Boiky made use of this refueling point on May 12th to refuel before heading back to the Atlantic Ocean and heading south along the African coast, while escorting two Russian merchant vessels.

The arrival of the sea going tug Evgeniy Churov might indicate a new submarine deployment in the Mediterranean. Previously, this tug supported the Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar during her deployment in the Western Mediterranean.

Daily Events
May 12
Russian Steregushchy class corvette Boiky and Russian cargo vessels Siyanie Severa and Patria entered the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar during the morning hours link.
The vessels then proceeded to an area northwest of Al Hoceima, Morocco where the corvette Boiky refueled from the Russian fleet tanker Kola link.
All three vessels departed the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar during the afternoon and headed south link.

May 15
Russian cargo vessel Sparta IV and oiler General Skobelev are reported 145 nautical miles east of the Strait of Gibraltar link.

May 16
Russian cargo vessel Crystal Vladivostok departed the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. The ship is heading towards Port Sudan and appears to be loaded link.

Russian cargo vessel Sparta IV and oiler General Skobelev departed the mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar during the morning. Both Russian vessels were escorted by a Spanish Alvara de Bazan Class frigate link.
It appears that the cargo vessel Sparta IV delivered several containers at the Syrian port of Tartus as she was observed being less loaded during her outbound trip compared to her inbound trip link.

May 18
Sea going tug Evgeniy Churov entered the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar during the evening link.

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