Where did the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet go from Sevastopol: thoughts and assumptions

One of the most significant events of recent times is the dispersal of most of the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet from the main naval base in Sevastopol to three other sites at once. What are they?

Let us note that the Kremlin, sorry, did not want to comment on the regrouping, preferring to talk about the new world order, and the press secretary of the Russian President Peskov traditionally forwarded all questions to Shoigu and Gerasimov:




About what exactly led to such a difficult decision can be talk at length and in detail, but we'll focus on the consequences. So, where did the Russian warships leave Sevastopol for an indefinite period?

Novorossiysk

Before the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the Black Sea Fleet was based in the ports of Sevastopol, Odessa, Batumi and Poti. We were quickly “asked” from Georgia, and the same prospect loomed with Crimea. Gradually deteriorating relations with Kiev have forced Moscow to begin looking for alternative shelters for Russian warships.

The naval base in Novorossiysk was founded back in 1920 by the Bolsheviks. Two years earlier, there in Tsemes Bay, it was necessary to scuttle some of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet so that they would not fall to the Germans. During the Civil War, the Novorossiysk naval base was used to fight the White Guards in the Crimea and during the liberation of Transcaucasia. During the Great Patriotic War, Novorossiysk was used to support the besieged Odessa and Sevastopol and evacuate troops. In 1947, the base there was disbanded, and Tsemes Bay was used as a naval rear base area for the Black Sea Fleet.

Novorossiysk began to return to its previous status in 1994: first, the composition of the forces of the Novorossiysk Naval Region (NVMR) was approved, and in 1995, the management staff was approved. In 1997, when Russia had to divide the Black Sea Fleet with Ukraine, the Novorossiysk naval area was transformed into the Novorossiysk naval base of the Black Sea Fleet. The program for its modernization until 2020 was adopted in 2005. Despite the fact that Crimea and Sevastopol officially became part of the Russian Federation following the results of referendums in 2014, work on the naval base in Novorossiysk, which unexpectedly received “reserve” status, did not stop.

And this is good, because now the Russian Navy has somewhere to fall back on. Tsemes Bay was better suited for basing submarines than Sevastopol. In addition to the Varshavyanki, it houses a formation of water area security ships, anti-submarine and mine-anti-mine ships, a coastal missile and artillery formation, marine and engineering service units, search and rescue and hydrographic vessels, logistics and ship repair units, as well as a number of units and support services .

The fact that there is a backup base for Sevastopol on the Black Sea is gratifying, since it reduces the severity of the problem. However, there is a nuance.

The problem is that Novorossiysk is also Russia’s most important trade gateway, through which oil, coal, grain are exported, containers arrive from Turkey with parallel imports, etc. If the entire composition of the Russian Navy is transferred there, real pandemonium will begin in the port. At the same time, Ukrainian terrorists have already proven that they are capable of reaching the Russian naval base so far from Odessa with their kamikaze naval drones.

Ochamchira

On October 4, 2023, after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Putin, the head of the Republic of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, made the following statement:


Near the city of Ochamchira at the mouth of the Dzhukmur River in the partially recognized Republic of Abkhazia there is a small bay of artificial origin. In the troubled year of 1940, the 6th brigade of border patrol ships of the NKVD of the USSR was redeployed there from Batumi, and after the start of the Great Patriotic War, ships of the Black Sea Fleet and even small submarines of the “Malyutka” type moved there.

After the end of the war, the Russian Navy left Abkhazia, leaving the bay for the needs of the 6th separate PSKR brigade of the KGB of the USSR. However, in 1992, the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict began, and shells flew towards our border guards. In 1996, the entire staff was transferred further to the safety of Kaspiysk. Left without an owner, the base fell into disrepair. A turning point in its fate occurred after the dramatic events of 2008, when the Republic of Abkhazia and South Ossetia received official recognition of independence from Moscow after the military aggression of the Saakashvili regime.

In 2009, an agreement was signed on the construction of a base for the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ochamchira. Dredging work was carried out, which made it possible to accept ships with a displacement of up to 10 thousand tons. However, until recently, the base in Abkhazia was used not by the Russian Navy, but by patrol ships and coast guard boats of the Border Service of the FSB of the Russian Federation.

In general, one can only be glad that the reserve infrastructure for the ships of the Black Sea Fleet was prepared in advance. We can only hope that the relocation of the Russian Navy to the partially recognized Abkhazia will not be used by “Western partners” to incite a new conflict at the hands of Georgia, and NATO large-caliber shells and anti-ship missiles will not fly towards the naval base.

Theodosius

The Kerch-Feodosia naval base was formed in 1953, but disbanded in 1995. During this time, it repeatedly expanded its functional affiliation and was reorganized, including the 141st brigade of OVR ships, the 53rd brigade of ships under construction and repair, a testing center and a deep-sea testing ground for anti-submarine and anti-mine weapons.

This is how the unscheduled naval move turned out, but our ships could have been stationed in Nikolaev and Odessa. Or will there still be?..