Russia has denied that its submarine is experiencing mechanical problems—but a Russian military blogger has speculated that it was forced to surface following a catastrophic fuel leak.
On Monday, the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet issued a statement denying that its diesel-electric powered submarine B-261 Novorossiysk was in any trouble or even forced to surface off the French coast last week. Posts on social media last month first suggested the lead boat of the Project 636.3 (NATO reporting name “Improved Kilo II-class“) may have experienced some form of accident.
While off the coast of Britanny, the boat surfaced and began to transit the English Channel, and its movements were being closely monitored.
“Reports by some media outlets of an alleged malfunction that caused the Novorossiysk diesel-electric submarine to make an emergency surface off the coast of France are false,” the Black Sea Fleet said in a statement to Russian news agency TASS.
“The submarine crew is currently conducting a routine inter-fleet transfer after performing missions as part of the Russian Navy’s standing task force stationed in the Mediterranean Sea,” the statement added. “According to the international rules of navigation, submarines are supposed to pass through the English Channel solely in surfaced position.”
No Hunt This October
Although the Russian Navy is downplaying the incident, Dutch media have reported that as of Saturday, the submarine was being towed in the North Sea. NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte joked about the condition of the submarine and even the Russian Navy on Monday.
“What a change from the 1984 Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October. Today, it seems more like the hunt for the nearest mechanic,” Rutte quipped in a speech in Slovenia—adding that the vessel was forced to limp home.
B-261 Novorossiysk hasn’t operated in the Black Sea since before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia’s presence in the Mediterranean has been significantly diminished following the loss of its naval facility in Syria last December, a point also noted by Rutte.
“[There is] hardly any Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean left.”
NATO Is Closely Watching the Russian Submarine
NATO forces have monitored the movements of the submarine very carefully.
“A French Navy frigate conducts surveillance of the Alliance’s maritime approaches, marking the presence of a Russian submarine operating on the surface off the coast of Brittany,” NATO Maritime Command said in a post on X last Thursday. “NATO stands ready to defend our Alliance with constant vigilance and maritime awareness across the Atlantic.”
The Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke then shadowed the surfaced Kilo-class submarine and its support tug during the transit of the English Channel. The Dutch Navy has also been escorting the Russian boat, the BBC reported.
There is still speculation that the situation on board the submarine could be far worse than the Kremlin is acknowledging, a move not that dissimilar from how it often acted during the Cold War. The Russian Navy seems to be taking a “hope for the best” approach rather than any “prepare for the worst” actions.
VChK-OGPU, a channel on the Telegram social messaging app that “publishes purported Russian security leaks,” according to the BBC, claimed at the end of September that fuel had leaked into the hold of the Russian submarine. That had raised the risk of an explosion—made worse by the fact that the crew may lack the necessary training and spare parts to resolve the issue. That may explain why the submarine remains surfaced, with a tug guiding it home.
Named for the City of Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, the largest Russian port on the Black Sea, B-261 Novorossiysk was laid down in St. Petersburg in 2010 and has been in service with the Black Sea Fleet’s 4th Separate Submarine Brigade since late 2014.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock / Evgenii.N.Korovin.
