A fire on board a Russian spy ship off the Syrian coast has underscored significant maintenance and readiness issues within the Russian navy. Analysts and western security services have pointed to the incident as further evidence of the declining state of the Russian fleet, especially in the Mediterranean region.
The incident took place last Thursday when the 55-year-old Kildin, a Russian surveillance ship, encountered a severe fire while in the eastern Mediterranean. Thick black smoke was seen emanating from its funnel, and the ship displayed two black balls on its mast, signaling that the crew had lost control. The vessel, which was operating near the Syrian coast, sent a distress call to a nearby Togolese-flagged cargo freighter, Milla Moon, warning it to maintain a distance of at least 2km. Despite the severity of the fire, the Russian crew did not request immediate assistance and spent over five hours attempting to control the blaze before restarting the ship’s engines and getting back underway.
This mishap comes in the wake of another incident in November involving the Russian missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov, which also experienced a fire. Western security services have linked these incidents to broader concerns over the Russian navy’s operational readiness. The Kildin fire, along with other issues such as Russian vessels being temporarily adrift without navigation control, reveals that the fleet’s maintenance is falling short. According to Michael Kofman, a Russia military expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, these types of incidents are common within the Russian navy due to the lack of maintenance and support facilities for its aging fleet.
Russia’s presence in the Mediterranean has been strategically important, with the Tartus naval base in Syria serving as a key asset. However, recent political developments have complicated Russia’s position. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which now controls much of Syria’s northwest, has moved to end a 2019 agreement that allowed Russia to control the Tartus commercial port. Experts warn that the loss of this port could exacerbate Russia’s already existing challenges in maintaining its fleet in the region.
Russia’s navy is also struggling with the issue of endurance. Many of its vessels are smaller, built rapidly, and heavily armed with missiles. While these vessels are suited for defending Russia’s own coastal waters, they struggle over long distances, as the lack of large-scale support and maintenance facilities compounds the issues.
In light of these operational and political challenges, Russia is seeking alternatives to Tartus, but potential solutions such as gaining access to ports in Libya or Sudan have encountered difficulties. Russia’s Mediterranean ambitions are now at a crossroads, with military and political pressures mounting from multiple sides. For Moscow, the loss of Tartus would turn current fleet problems into a major crisis, significantly weakening its strategic position in the region.
