Spanish Navy Monitors Transit of Russian Attack Submarine

The Spanish Navy is reporting that it tracked a Russian attack submarine entering the Mediterranean and accompanied for part of the trip by a Russian tug. It was a part of the regular NATO efforts in the region where activity by Russians has been watched more intently this year as more ships were entering the Mediterranean as the political situation in Syria unfolded.

The Spanish frigate Álvaro de Bazán (5,800 tons displacement) part of the F-100 class was assigned the monitoring operation. It operates as part of Standing NATO Task Force No. 2 (SNMG2). NATO maintains two escort groups (SNMG) and two minesweeping groups (SNMCMG) responsible for the waters ranging from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Northern Flank, and the Southern Corridor (from the Strait of Hormuz to the Suez Canal), including the coasts of Somalia.

Few details were released on the monitoring, but the Spanish Navy identified the submarine as Krasnodar, of the KILO II class. The subs are diesel-electric attack submarines built in 1980 and operated by the Soviet Union. The Spanish only said that it was “in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean.”

The submarine was traveling with the Russian tugboat Evgeniy Churov. According to the report, it accompanied the submarine on its way to the port of Alexandria, Egypt. The monitoring of the merchant vessel ended when the Russian vessels separated and each took a different course.

Álvaro de Bazán tracked the Russian vessels (Spanish Navy)

European Security & Defense reported in February that the sub and the tug had been observed off Portugal after having made their way from Northern Europe and the Baltic. The Royal Danish Navy tracked the vessels at the beginning of February as they transited west.

According to the report, the Krasnodar and another Russian submarine Novorossiysk were both based in the Black Sea until 2022. The Novorossiysk was seen at the end of the year leaving the Mediterranean so if the Krasnodar remains in the Mediterranean, the news outlet said Russia would be restoring its presence in the region.

NATO and the West have been closely watching the Russian retreat from Syria and the steady stream of vessels moving into and out of the Tartus naval base. European Security & Defense speculates on possible new bases of operation for the submarine.

Spain highlights the tracking was part of its ongoing solidarity with the other NATO member countries, thereby supporting deterrence and collective defense at and from the sea.