New Russian movements to keep an eye on

New Russian movement to keep an eye on in the Mediterranean. This time it’s the tanker ship “General Skobelev” (“Генерал Скобелев”) (IMO 9503304), flying the flag of the Russian Federation.

Currently underway, as of 10:00 UTC on May 8, 2024, in the Sicilian Channel, about 15 nautical miles north of Pantelleria, at 8.8 knots, heading 116° (E). Departed from the port of Baliysk, in the Baltic, Kaliningrad, Russian Federation, on April 21, 2024, indicating Port Said, Egypt, as its destination. However, it is not to be excluded (indeed it is very likely) that this is a fictitious destination. It is likely that the ship is actually headed to either Tartus, Syria, or even the Black Sea, where it would replace similar units lost during the war with Ukraine.

🇷🇺MED SEA FLOTILLA🇷🇺
3 military vessels, based on silhouette / wake, westbound ~30 km off the coast of Tartus.

Landsat 8-9 caveats apply but based on lengths could be the Admiral Grigorovich, the Merkury and the Kildin.

It will be interesting to see what's left in Tartus🧐 pic.twitter.com/mgCHadhyGO

— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) May 6, 2024

It is worth noting that in the first part of its journey, the ship was escorted by units of the Russian navy, but then entered the Mediterranean alone. It should be noted, however, that some units based in Tartus, including the frigate Admiral Grigorovich and the corvette Merkury, left the Syrian port two days ago, sailing westward, and it cannot be ruled out that these units will escort the tanker in the coming days.

The “General Skobelev” is a tanker ship of 13,000 tons, 150 meters long, 17 meters wide, and with a draft of 7 meters, built in 2008 by the Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard (in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation), owned by Pal Shipping Trader Three Co Ltd (Valletta, Malta), and operating under the flag of the Russian Federation (registered in Taganrog, Rostov).

🇷🇺Russian Navy has recently been escorting its civilian🚢 in certain areas:
Recently, Sparta IV and General Skobelev 🚢have been escorted from Russia to the Channel exit and from the S of 🇮🇹Sicily to🇸🇾Syria.
Why are they not also escorted in the Atlantic🌊? Lack of resources? pic.twitter.com/7RbBafWSVn

— Russian Forces Spotter (@TiaFarris10) May 4, 2024

Pal Shipping Trader Three Co Ltd is owned by Bumerz Limited (Isle of Man), which is in turn owned by the Turkish company Bumerz Denizclik (Istanbul), whose shareholders include, among others, Mustafa Erdoğan and Ahmet Burak Erdoğan, respectively brother and son of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, current (12th) President of the Republic of Turkey and previously, from 2003 to 2014, Prime Minister.