Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jan-25 Weekly Brief The Russian cargo vessels Sparta and Sparta II have entered the port of Tartus after several weeks of sailing in racetrack patterns near Tartus. The arrival of both vessels took place shortly after the Syrian Transitional Government announced that it cancelled the Russian 49 year lease of the port of Tartus. With both vessels present inside the port, it is understood that the Russian maritime evacuation from Tartus is starting though cloud cover prevented observation by satellite. Daily Events January 19 Satellite imagery shows the task force present at large near the port of Tartus, Syria. The vessels identified were the frigates Admiral Golovko and Admiral Grigorovich, Landing ship Ivan Gren, fleet oiler Vyazma, civilian tanker General Skobolev and the cargo vessels Sparta and Sparta II [ 1 ]. January 21 AIS signals shows cargo vessel Sparta II docked inside the port of Tartus with cargo vessel Sparta a...

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 s...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jan-11 Weekly Brief Russia's maritime composure in the Mediterranean remained largely unchanged during this week with the task force operating outside the Syrian territorial waters of Tartus, Syria. The Russian cargo vessel Sparta remains in a racetrack outside Tartus, awaiting permission by the new Syrian government to enter the port and start withdrawing military equipment. Ropucha class landing vessel Alxandr Shabalin departed the Mediterranean after a weapons transfer with Algeria. It is unclear if Russia delivered or picked up weapons at Oran. Daily Events January 05 Satellite imagery of the area near Tartus, Syria, revealed the presence of the frigates Admiral Golovko and Admiral Grigorovich as well as weapons runner Sparta [ 1 ]. January 06 Ropucha class landing vessel Alxandr Shabalin is reported of the coast of Portugal [ 2 ]. Russia weapons carrier Lady Mariia passed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Atla...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jan-04 Weekly Brief Russia no longer operates submarines in the Mediterranean as its sole submarine, the Improved Kilo class submarine Novorossiysk, departed the Mediterranean on January 2nd. The vessel was escorted by the fleet oiler Yelnya all the way until Bou Zadjar, Algeria. The Yelnya most likely refueled the submarine prior to its departure, ensuring that the vessel will be able to reach the Baltic Sea and rejoin the Baltic Fleet. Additional Russian cargo vessels keep entering the Mediterranean, possibly for a maritime evacuation of Tartus. Russian research vessel Yantar concluded a port visit in Alexandria, Egypt. Daily Events December 31 Russian ocean going tugboat Titan passed the Strait of Gibraltar and headed into the Mediterranean. The vessel is heading towards Suez [ 1 ]. January 01 Improved Kilo class submarine Novorossiysk was observed near the Algerian coast as it headed towards the Strait of Gibraltar [ 2 ]...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Dec-28 Weekly Brief The weapons runner Ursa Major sank this week near the Strait of Gibraltar as a result of an explosion in the engine room. The vessel was rumored to be used for a maritime evacuation but analysis of the cargo reveals that it was indeed heading towards Vladivostok. The vessel transported two 45ton hatches to be used for the construction of a nuclear powered icebreaker as well as two cranes to be used in the port of Vladivostok. The reason of the explosion is unknown. Additional vessels associated with a possible maritime evacuation have been reported entering the Mediterranean. These vessels are the Ivan Grenn and the Aleksandr Otrakovskiy. They entered via the Strait of Gibraltar together with the weapons runner Sparta. Daily Events December 22 Ivan Grenn class amphibious landing vessel Ivan Grenn and Ropucha class landing vessel Aleksandr Otrakovskiy have entered the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gi...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Dec-21 Weekly Brief Overal Status:  The Russian task force remains in place of the Syrian Coast near the port of Tartus, largely staying out of the territorial waters of Syria. It appears that the task force remains in place to cover the Russian withdrawal from the region. At the same time, military equipment and vehicles are accumulating in Tartus in anticipation of a seaborn evacuation. Departure Admiral Gorshkov : The frigate Admiral Gorshkov departed the Mediterranean, completing her regular deployment in the Mediterranean. The vessel was escorted by the fleet oiler Yelnya past Oran. Most likely the frigate took on fuel before passing the Strait of Gibraltar and returning back to the Northern Fleet. Fleet oiler Yelnya subsequently docked in Algiers for a port visit, most likely taking on more fuel to sustain future operations in the Mediterranean. Syrian Express: More and more vessels appear to be converting to evacu...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Dec-14 Weekly Brief The Russian Mediterranean Task Force spend the past week in a holding pattern near the Syrian territorial waters at Tartus. This holding pattern confirms rumors at the beginning of the week that the Russians were negotiating with the Syrian Rebels to continue a Russian military presence in Latakia province. However, as of the second half of the week, there are signs that these negotiations have failed and that Russia is starting to evacuate form Syria. Additional air transports are rumored to start flying Russian military equipment out of Syria. At the same time, the weapon runners Sparta and Ursa Major have left Russia and are heading, according to their AIS, to Port Said and Vladivostok respectively. We can expect both vessels to make a last moment  change and head to Tartus to load up Russian military equipment. Satellite imagery shows a build up of bulk storage at the former Russian military dock ...