The Russian Northern Fleet Takes "A Trek" Along the Northern Sea Route

Russia Today reports this morning, not unexpectedly in all the circumstances, that:

The Russian Navy intends to build its presence in the Mediterranean Sea – particularly in the area close to Syrian shores – to up to 10 battleships.

Admiral of the Fleet Viktor Chirkov said that:

The task is crystal clear: to avoid a slightest threat to the security of the state. This is a general practice of all fleets around the world, to be there when a tension level increases. They are all going to act on operational command plan of the offshore maritime zone. Russia will be building up its Mediterranean fleet until it is deemed sufficient to perform the task set.

In amongst reciting a long list of relocating Russian ships Admiral Chirkov pointed out that:

A group of 10 warships and support vessels accompanied by four nuclear icebreakers right now are training on the Northern Sea Route. This task group is headed by Russia’s most powerful battleship and the flagship of the Northern Fleet, cruiser ‘Pyotr Veliky’ (Peter the Great).

For the first time ever all Russia’s nuclear surface ships – heavy nuclear missile cruiser ‘Pyotr Veliky' and nuclear icebreakers ‘Yamal’, ‘Vaigach’, ‘Taimyr’ and ‘50 Let Pobedy’, were combining to perform a joint task. The icebreakers assisted the taskforce to pass the strait between the Taimyr Peninsula and the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago, and now the group is continuing to move forward to the east, crossing the Laptev Sea.

Do you suppose that the Mediterranean will be a subsequent stop on Peter the Great's hastily arranged world tour?

According to the Barents Observer once again:

A heavily equipped Northern Fleet mission is setting up a base on the New Siberian Islands, a key site along the Northern Sea Route.

According to military sources, the new base will protect offshore oil and gas resources in the area and keep an eye on the growing number of ships sailing along the Northern Sea Route.

In a video conference with President Vladimir Putin this week, Northern Fleet Head Commander Vladimir Korolev confirmed that three Navy vessels, including the “Peter the Great” missile cruiser, as well as seven support vessels and four nuclear-powered icebreakers are involved in the operations.

The vessels arrived on site on September 12 and by September 29 all equipment, including Navy base personnel, will be brought on land by helicopters and support vessels. The base will include representatives of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, meteorologists and climate researchers.

The Island of Kotelny in the period 1933-1993 housed a research station and military base. Remains of the decades of Soviet presence at the island is overwhelming. Significant volumes of abandoned military equipment and metal scrap is covering major parts of the island. According to TV-station Zvezda, there is a total of more than 60 thousand rusting oil barrels left on site.

The revival of the base comes after the signing of a decree by President Putin.

With more help from Google Translate, Rosatomflot reports that:

On September 30th a squadron of ships of the Northern Fleet led by the heavy nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser "Peter the Great" returned from a long voyage to the Arctic.

According to Deputy General Director of Fleet Operations Andrei Smirnov, the operation was quite difficult. "The fact that the Northern Fleet returned to the Arctic is a significant event. For us, this is proof that if required our fleet of icebreakers needed can perform such complex state issues."

Andrey said that the main difficulty of the campaign this year was the difficult ice conditions in the Arctic along the Northern Sea Route, particularly in Mathisen Strait and on the approaches to the Straits of Celebes.

During the long cruise the ships traveled more than 4,000 nautical miles, operating in the Laptev Sea, the Kara and Barents Seas. During the entire duration of their voyage the detachment was accompanied by nuclear-powered icebreakers "Yamal", "50 Years of Victory", "Taimyr" and "Vaygach".