Contents tagged with Mediterranean Sea

  • Turkey blocks Russian oil takers en route to Europe

    Shipments of Russian oil to Europe through the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea continue to face difficulties due to Turkey’s decision to change the rules for ships passing through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, finanz.ru reports.

    The congestion of Russian oil tankers and grain carriers departing from Novorossiysk keeps growing, and is reaching all-time records.

    On 6 February, 55 ships were waiting for permission to enter the Turkish straits, including 26 Aframax-class and 21 Suezmax-class …

  • In a letter to Putin Assad blames Israel for Il-20 crash

    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin a telegram expressing his condolences in connection with downing of the Russian Il-20 aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea and the death of its crew. The letter was published in an article by the Syrian Arab News Agency.

    “On my own behalf and on behalf of the Syrian nation, I express to you and to the friendly Russian nation my deepest sympathy concerning the incident of the crashing of the Russian Il-20 military plane …

  • US carrier strike group enters Mediterranean

    A US Navy carrier strike group, headed by Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman, has begun an operation in the Mediterranean Sea, the US Navy’s press service reported.

    The operation is being held “to continue supporting NATO allies, European and African partner states, coalition partners and national security interests of the US and Europe in Africa”.

    According to US Sixth Fleet Commander Lisa Franchetti, the group will practice “the full scope of naval operations” during its stay in …

  • NATO warships approach Syrian coast

    NATO warships from the second Standing NATO Maritime Group are currently patrolling the area of the Eastern Mediterranean, reported Interfax with reference to the data of Western marine resources.

    It is noted that in the immediate vicinity of Syria, there are Dutch frigate HNLMS De Ruyter, Canadian HMSC Ville de Quebec and Greek frigate Elli.

    In the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, there are three missile destroyers of the US Navy: Carney, Ross and Winston Churchill, which are all …

  • Fourth American destroyer equipped with Tomahawks enters the Mediterranean Sea

    The USS Bulkeley destroyer, which is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles, entered the Mediterranean Sea, reported Interfax with reference to Gibraltar resources monitoring the ship traffic.

    As reported by the agency, the destroyer headed for the eastern Mediterranean towards the shores of Syria.

    The movement of the destroyer was reported on Twitter by Michael Sanchez, who monitors the passage of ships in Gibraltar. He wrote that the USS Bulkeley was seen in the Strait of Gibraltar near …

  • Russia to conduct extensive naval maneuvers in Mediterranean

    Russia has been expanding its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean ahead of Syrian government forces’ expected offensive on the final rebel and jihadist stronghold in Syria, the Idlib Governorate. From 1 to 8 September, the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean will carry out drills involving 25 ships and around 30 Aerospace Forces aircraft, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

    The exercise will focus on a range of tasks relating to anti-air and anti-submarine defense, as well as …

  • Russia sends two frigates to reinforce its Mediterranean flotilla

    Two frigates from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Essen, have set out from Sevastopol to join the Russian squadron in the Mediterranean Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry’s website reported.

    “Making the transition by sea, the ships performed a range of ship combat exercises at the fleet’s combat training sites in the Black Sea,” the report states.

    As part of the drills, Ka-27PL helicopters took off and landed from the frigates’ decks. The frigates also searched …

  • Russian warships enter the Mediterranean Sea

    Two Northern Fleet ships, the large anti-submarine ship Severomorsk and missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov entered the  waters of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic after undergoing repairs, Interfax reports citing the press-service of the Northern Fleet.

    The crew of the Marshal Ustinov performed air defense drills and checked the readiness of its weapons and technical systems. The Severomorsk crew practiced fighting surface vessels. The press service noted that the ships crossed the Strait …

  • Russian missile corvettes enter the Mediterranean Sea

    Renowned ship-spotter and international affairs consultant Yörük Işık reported on twitter that two missile corvettes from the Russian Navy’s Caspian Flotilla entered the Mediterranean Sea.

    The report identified the ships as two Buyan M-class corvettes, the Veliky Ustyug 651 and the Grad Sviyazhsk 652, both armed with SS-N-30 Kalibr land attack cruise missiles. The ships passed through the Bosporus, bound for the Mediterranean.

    Işık noted that the ships were likely headed to a Russian military …

  • Russia may send more warships to Mediterranean

    The Russian Navy will maintain an effective and balanced size of the fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, Naval Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Korolev said after the ceremony in which a replica of the ship Poltava was launched into the water in St. Petersburg.

    “The Navy will support a size of the flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea which will be effective and balanced, so that this group will maintain self-sufficiency, that is, it can successfully and effectively collaborate with aircraft, carry out …