Periscope near Royal Navy’s submarine base at Faslane, with Russian squadron?

Maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs) from France, Canada and the U.S. conducted patrols in conjunction with British surface warships in the search for the submarine in late November and the first week of December, operating out of RAF Lossiemouth in northern Scotland.   The aircraft and supporting airlifters arriving around Nov. 26. The deployment appeared to end last December 6.

The incident began when a periscope was sighted in waters where U.K. and other submarines would normally surface as they head into or out of the Royal Navy’s submarine base at Faslane, home of the U.K.’s ballistic missile submarines.   On Nov. 28, the U.K. reported it was tracking four Russian warships passing through the Strait of Dover and into the English Channel heading out into the Atlantic. 

At the height of the operation, aircraft involved in the hunt included two U.S. Navy P-3 Orions, a single CP-140 Aurora from the Royal Canadian Air Force and a Dassault Atlantique 2 of the French navy. Also involved was one of the U.K.’s Raytheon Sentinel radar-reconnaissance aircraft.

[December 4 Russian squadron with Tank Landing ship Aleksandr Otrakovski enters the Mediterranean]

Russian sailors stand in formation in front of their Russian navy frigate Smolny at the STX Les Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, western France, November 25, 2014. 

Russia’s Northern Fleet convoy of warships and auxiliary vessels led by large submarine chaser Severomorsk has entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Straits of Gibraltar, 

November 29 The Russian ships are transiting  the Channel
Lieutenant-Colonel Jay Janzen, NATO's military spokesman, said the alliance was aware of the Russian ships' location.

"Our information indicates that the ships are transiting and have been delayed by weather conditions. They are not exercising in the Channel, as some Russian headlines would have us believe," he said.   German Chancellor Angela Merkel , on the eve of the November 30 Moldova elections warned Russia not to interfere in post-Soviet states, including Moldova.

Squadron includes BDK-55 Aleksandr Otrakovski BDK LST 775 Ropucha Northern 1977 121st Landing Bde   The Ropucha (toad), or Project 775 class Tank Landing ships are classified in the Russian Navy as "large landing craft" (Bol'shoy Desatnyy Korabl). They were built in Poland in the Stocznia Północna shipyards, in Gdansk. They are designed for beach landings and can carry a 450 ton cargo. The ships have both bow and stern doors for loading and unloading vehicles, and the 630 m² of vehicle deck stretches the length of the hull. Up to 25 armored personnel carriers can be embarked.The 28 ships of this type where commissioned from 1975 to 1991.

[November 28 Russian Navy  foray into Channel isn’t “alarming, it’s normal maritime traffic.”]

November 28, 2014 14:10 

At least four vessels led by the anti-submarine ship Severomorsk plan drills in the expanse of water separating England from continental Europe.

. NATO said the foray isn’t “alarming, it’s normal maritime traffic.”
 Severomorsk «Североморск» 30 December 1987 In service with the Russian Pacific Fleet.

The Udaloy class are generally considered the Soviet equivalent of the American Spruance class destroyers. There are variations in SAM and air search radar among units of the class. Based on the Krivak class, the emphasis on ASW left these ships with limited anti-surface and anti-air capabilities.

Russia’s currency USDRUB, +2.30%  on November 28 traded at 49.965 against the greenback, its weakest level ever..
 Bank of Russia on November 28 said it’s extending limits on currency swaps for the next two weeks in a move to discourage bets on a weaker ruble.
“When you combine the fundamentals that Russia is facing right now,” in the form of Western sanctions and the further fall in oil prices, “it’s going to limit how much [the central bank] can improve the value of the ruble,” said Jameel Ahmad, chief market analyst at FXTM



[February 25 2010 Marshal Shaposhnikov: Russian DDG to Somalia


On February 24, Russia's Pacific Fleet dispatched the large anti-submarine warship Marshal Shaposhnikov, a rescue tugboat and the Pechenga tanker to fight pirates off the Somali coast. 1155. Udaloy class (guided missile destroyer) Udaloy-7 +. 15.2.1986

D. (tons): 6,200-6,700 tons standard
8,200-8,900 tons full load
Speed (kts): 30
Dimensions (m): 163.0-164.0 meters long
19.3 meters beam
6.2-8.0 meters draft
M./Engine: COGAG: 2 M62 cruise gas turbines, 15,000 shp; 2 M8KF boost gas turbines, 45,000 shp; 2 shafts, 60,000 shp, 29.5 knots; 3'000 n.m/14 kts
Man./Crew: 296
Armament:
2 x 4 SS-N-14 or SS-N-22 Sunburn (1155.1)
(R: 90 n.m; S: 2,5 mach)
8 x 8 Kinzhal (SA-N-9) Total: 64
(R: 8 n.m; S: 3 mach; r: 10-12'000 m)
2 SA Kortik
1 x 2 AK-130 DP (130 mm)
4 x 6 AK-630 gattl. AA
(6x30 mm; 6'000 rds/m/mount)
2 x 4/533 mm Total: 30
2 x 10 RBU-Udav ASW RL (R: 1'200 m)
Helicopter KA-32
Electronics: Radar: MR-700 Fregat-A/Top Plate 3-D air search, MR-320M Topaz-V/Strut Pair air/surf. search
Sonar: Zvezda-2 suite with MGK-345 Bronza/Ox Yoke bow mounted LF, Ox Tail LF VDS
Fire Control: 2 MR-360 Podkat/Cross Sword SA-N-9 SAM control, 2 3P37/Hot Flash SA-N-11 SAM control, Garpun-BAL SSM targeting
EW: Start-series suite with Wine Glass intercept, Bell Shroud intercept, Bell Squat jammer, 2 PK-2 decoy RL, 10 PK-10 decoy RL


Compare DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class

115 沈阳 / Shenyang, 116 石家庄/ Shijiazhuang in Russia-China naval drill

China's defence ministry said on July 2 that its navy would send four destroyers, two guided missile frigates and a support ship for  exercises with the Russian navy, which start on Friday in the Sea of Japan and run until 12 July.

115 沈阳 / Shenyang
116 石家庄/ Shijiazhuang


The Type 051C or Luzhou class destroyer is a long-range air-defence guided missile destroyer built by China in its ongoing effort to create a true blue water navy. The ship uses the hull design of the older Type 051B (Luhai class), but is equipped with the advanced Russian S-300FM air defence missiles systems. Currently, two ships of this class have been launched and deployed by People's Liberation Army Navy North Sea Fleet.
General characteristics
Displacement: 7,100 tons
Length: 155 metres (508.5 feet)
Beam: 17 metres (55.8 feet)
Draught: 6 metres (19.7 feet)
Propulsion: 2 indigenous steam turbines
Speed: 30 knots
Armament:
48 x S-300FM (SA-N-20) surface-to-air missiles (6 x 8 revolver-style VLS)
8 x YJ-83 (C-803) anti-ship missiles
1 x 100 mm dual purpose gun
2 x Type 730 30 mm seven-barrel Gatling gun close-in weapons systems
2 x 3 324mm torpedo launchers carrying Yu-7 torpedoes
2 x 15 Type 946 decoy launchers
2 x 18 Type 726-4 decoy launchers
Aircraft carried: Kamov Ka-28 Helix size Helicopter
Aviation facilities: No hangar

The ships departed on Monday from the port of Qingdao, where China's Northern Fleet is based, and headed for the rallying point in Peter the Great Bay near Vladivostok.

Arctic Sea: off the map for 12 hours

The phantom vessel Arctic Sea has turned off its AIS transponder? The last position twelve hours ago, is compared to the AIS range being displayed.

Arctic Sea: Russian naval personnel disembarked

The Arctic Sea entered the port of Valletta the evening of 29 October and has been allocated a berth at Boiler Wharf. The ship was delivered back to its owners outside Maltese territorial waters in the afternoon.

The ship arrived, 28 October at 0700 hours, outside territorial waters under the tow of a Russian naval tug. The ship was handed over 29 October at 1330 hours by the Russian authorities to the owner. Soon after the tow was transferred from the Russian naval tug to the commercial tug boat Mari, operated by Tug Malta, and the Russian naval personnel disembarked from the ship.

Despite repeated promises to take it into port, the Russian Navy had held the Arctic Sea in international waters since seizing it from suspected pirates on August 17 off Cape Verde near West Africa, 2,500 miles (4,000km) off course.

The ship had been under guard by two Russian warships since then. The captain and three crew members, who are all Russian, had been on board throughout the voyage. It is unclear whether they will be free to return home to the Russian port of Archangel or be taken to Moscow for questioning.

The Moscow Basmanny District Court has extended the arrest of the suspected assailants of the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea until 18 February at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General Office’s Investigation Committee. “The judge extended custody of Andrei Lunev and Vitaly Lepin for three months and 29 days, until 18 February,” said Moscow City Court press secretary Anna Usachyova on16 October. A similar decision was made for another six suspects earlier.

Arctic Sea: Algeria refuses port call

Algeria had refused to let the Arctic Sea pass into its territorial waters.
"The cargo being carried by the Arctic Sea was destined for an Algerian customer, and we offered to tug the vessel to the Algerian port of Bejaia to hand the ship over to its owner and deliver the cargo to its recipient," the Investigative Committee at the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said, adding that no reasons had been given for the refusal.
Finnish sources found the Arctic Sea again on the list of arrivals at the Port of Bejaïa in Algeria for 4 October, but then deleted from the list.

"The Arctic Sea vessel escorted by a tugboat and the Ladny patrol ship is currently anchored off Gibraltar in the Mediterranean."

Arctic Sea: 'evidence' transferred to 'warship'

Gray vessel, possibly part of the bunkering fleet of the Laskaridis family in Eastern Europe
IMAN - Bitumen Tanker - Ex:Dalnerechensk. Build: 1986 Rauma-Repola. 6,237 dwt. Owners: Laskarides Shipping

...or maybe Russian military tanker, 'warship'

Item: Viktor Matveev, the director of Solchart Management which owns the Arctic Sea, told Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda on Tuesday that the Port Authority of Las Palmas did not allow the cargo ship to enter the harbour because 11 Russian military men were on the vessel.
However, according to an Interfax source in Russian law enforcement bodies, the Arctic Sea has been denied access to the port because it has not paid the necessary fees to the Spanish maritime authorities.

“The fact that the military are on board plays no role in this case. A vessel is only considered as having a military status if it carries the flag of a certain country,”

Solchart website Finland: " The vessel has to be securely exploited by the specialists (11 navy sailors do not pose to be these specialists) of the crew size not less than that indicated in the Minimum Crew Certificate, granted by the Flag Administration."

Arctic Sea: 'Evidence' off-loaded to military tanker

The Russian Navy's Iman tanker will deliver material evidence from the Arctic Sea vessel to the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in October, a high-ranking military official said on Sep. 21. "The arrival of the warship [Finnish built Aksay type tanker] in the port of Novorossiisk is scheduled for mid-October."

6617427 IMAN Tanker 4471 1966 Russia

DNo: 6617427 Year: 1966
Name: IMAN Launch Date: 3.6.66
Type: Tanker Date of completion:
Flag: RUS Keel:
Tons: 3359 Link: 1875
DWT: 4400 Yard No: 155
Length overall: 105.1 Ship Design:
LPP: 96.9 Country of build: FIN
Beam: 14.8 Builder: Rauma-Repola
Material of build: Location of yard: Rauma

Item: The 'company representative' from the management of Solchart in Finland that was denied access to the Arctic Sea off the Canaries, was Russian-based 'the shipping company’s representative from Solchart’s office in Arkhangelsk.'

Item: At last report, Solchart never filed an insurance claim. "At this point, there is, fortunately, no need to file an insurance claim because we still do not know where the ship and its crew are located," the official said without disclosing the amount the vessel was insured for.

Arctic Sea: Do not need to stop at Las Palmas

"Russian authorities have just informed us that they do not need the Arctic Sea to stop in Spain, in Las Palmas," a Spanish foreign ministry source told AFP.

Arctic Sea: evidence removed by Russians

Maltese statement: With reference to claims in the press that the ship was due to be handed over to the Maltese Authorities, Malta as the flag State of the ship, has always maintained that it has no right to assume the ownership of the ship since it is not the rightful owner of the ship and therefore the ship should be handed over to the shipowner as the rightful owner of the ship.

Russian statement via Indian press:On Sep. 17 evidence from the Arctic Sea ship was transshipped onto Russian frigate Ladny , as mystery still surrounded the identity of its cargo one month after it was recovered from alleged pirates.

Russian investigators said evidence that showed the vessel was prey to piracy, including arms and masks, was now on its way to Russia for use in a trial against the suspected hijackers.

"The evidence will be delivered to a Russian port, where the warship Ladny and its escorting vessels will dock," the investigative committee said in a statement posted on its website.

"It includes ammunition used by the suspected pirates to capture the ship and the speedboat from which they boarded it.

The boat was camouflaged on board the Arctic Sea under a wood frame and canvass," it said.

Arctic Sea on the move with 'warship'

The Russian embassy in Madrid had requested and received permission for the Arctic Sea, which is being towed by a tug under the escort of a warship, to call at the port of Las Palmas, adding that the convoy was 14 miles off the coast and should arrive closer to evening, a Spanish marine spokesperson said.

Arctic Sea never left Islands

Russian defense officials said September 10 that the Arctic Sea will be handed over to Malta, and the Ladny frigate will return to its Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol, Crimea, and that both ships are now in one of the ports on the Canary Islands. RIA Novosti

Authorities previously said the "Arctic Sea" would arrive in the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in mid-September.

Mikhail Voitenko believes Nato knew exactly what had happened to the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea.

A Nato spokesman said the alliance had been in contact with Russia throughout the crisis, but would not say anything more.

"Arctic Sea" in Novorossiisk in 12 days

Authorities say the "Arctic Sea" will arrive in the port of Novorossiisk in mid-September with the four remaining crew members at which point a more thorough investigation will take place.

"There is something on board they don't want anyone to see," says Mikhail Voitenko by phone from a hotel in Istanbul. He says that by reporting the missing ship he "spoiled the whole business for somebody" and now "they just want revenge, to smash me."

Missiles sold by top Russian officials.

pictured: Russian Navy commander, Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky
"I think that if this journey had been successful, Russia could have ended up in a huge international scandal," he said. "I think that for this reason the order was given from the top to start this huge naval operation. We caught the boat to make sure we didn't end up in a nasty situation."