Russia’s Mediterranean Fleet Is in Big Trouble

6 comments

1. If they don’t touch land in a certain amount of time, will they turn into submarines?

2. Russia in twubbles?

3. > The loss of the Tartus port should be seen as a major blow to Moscow’s ambitions.

   > The Russian Navy will likely have fewer submarines operating in the Mediterranean Sea after the new Syrian government terminated its longstanding investment agreement with the Russian company that has managed the port of Tartus.
   > The facility, which Moscow has operated since 1971, has seen significant upgrades in recent years. In 2019, Damascus signed a 49-year lease with the Russian-based Budtransgaz, with the company pledging to invest $500 million to further develop the port.
   > It is unclear how much of the money has already been spent. But by all accounts, the Russian Navy will now need to find a new base of operations.

   > Withdrawal From Tartus Being Completed

   > On Wednesday, the Russian roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) cargo ship Sparta III received permission to enter the port at Tartus, but only to receive Russian equipment “awaiting evacuation,” the Kyiv Post reported, citing security research group Arab-Military. It was just a day earlier that Sparta II had also been granted permission after waiting off the coast for several weeks.
   > The situation is better for the Kremlin than just a few weeks ago, when there was speculation that Syria’s new ruling government might block Russian efforts to evacuate Tartus altogether. That doesn’t appear to be the case, but this outcome is little better: like a bad breakup, Russia is only being allowed to come and retrieve its things!
   > The loss of the port should be seen as a major blow to Moscow’s ambitions. Since launching its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, Tartus has taken on even greater importance.

4. Oh I do hope it’s nothing trivial.

5. “… like a bad breakup, Russia is only being allowed to come and retrieve its things!”

6. Without access from the Black Sea, the Russian Navy would need lots of logistics to bring ships and subs to the Mediterranean Sea, and as soon as anything goes wrong, good luck finding a port there. This will definitely make life more easy for the NATO groups there.

   This is the last step to make the Mediterranean Sea even more a “NATO lake” than the Baltic Sea. Besides France, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Greece and the US there’s only Israel with a navy worth mentioning, and they are friendly, even using mostly German made ships and subs. Egypt and Morocco also bought in Europe, being friendly towards and in some ways dependent on the continuous support from the western alliance.

   Let’s hope this also has a negative effect on the logistics and resources Russia can commit to the war.

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