Russia deploys frigate and tanker to strategic Red Sea waters

The frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov and the tanker Boris Butoma of the Russian Pacific Fleet have entered the Red Sea as part of a long-range deployment in the Asia-Pacific region and other strategically important areas of the world’s oceans, TASS reports, citing the fleet’s press service.

“The frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, accompanied by the tanker Boris Butoma, passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and entered the Red Sea. Before entering the Red Sea, the crews of the ship detachment successfully navigated the Gulf of Aden, where they conducted a series of naval exercises simulating actions against a hypothetical adversary,” the statement said.

The press service noted that the Pacific Fleet detachment departed from Vladivostok on October 1 for a long-range deployment to carry out assigned tasks in the Asia-Pacific region and other strategically important areas of the world’s oceans.

The Marshal Shaposhnikov was launched in January 1985 at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad as a large anti-submarine ship of Project 1155. In 2016, it underwent repairs and modernisation at the Dalzavod Ship Repair Centre in Vladivostok.

During the modernisation, the ship was reclassified as a frigate and equipped with modern strike missile systems, including Kalibr-NK and Uran. After testing, the frigate returned to active service with the Pacific Fleet on April 27, 2021.

The large sea tanker Boris Butoma serves as a comprehensive supply tanker for Pacific Fleet ships. It was built under Project 1559-B (code name “Morskoy Prostor”) at the Baltic Shipyard and commissioned on October 30, 1978.

By Tamilla Hasanova