Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…The Turkish Straits are the only way in and out of the Black Sea. The maritime traffic passing through this great strategic waterway of antiquity, running through the heart of Istanbul, remains full of intrigue, as Russia continues to find ways around shipping embargoes and restrictions in place now for nearly a decade. Yoruk Isik – known as the Bosphorus Observer – is one of the most astute analysts of the waterway, and he joins us from Istanbul with some truly fascinating observations into the sort of games playing out almost in full view of one of the world’s great cities.
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This Week’s Naval Round Up:
The Russian Ropucha-class amphibious ship NOVOCHERKASSK was apparently destroyed early December 26 by a Ukrainian missile attack while in port at Feodosia, Crimea. The ship reportedly exploded and burned after it was hit by a Storm Shadow missile. Russian media reported 33 sailors were killed in the attack and 19 were wounded, and daylight images of the scene showed a completely wrecked ship. The NOVOCHERKASSK was at Feodosia, on the southeastern side of Crimea, where a number of Russian naval units had relocated from Sevastopol on the western side to get further away from Ukrainian forces.
A Panamanian-flagged merchant ship reportedly was hit by a Russian mine on December 27. Reuters reported the Greek-owned bulk carrier VYSSOS was hit while nearing the Danube River estuary in the western Black Sea. Two of the 18 crewmembers on board were injured, including the ship’s captain. The ship was last reported anchored but as of this time has stopped updating its position. A cooperative effort by several Black Sea navies to begin mine clearance operations is to begin early in 2024.
The situation in the southern Red Sea around the Bab al-Mandeb strait remained complex, as US and other nations ramped up efforts to escort merchant shipping through the key waterway in the face of continued Houthi attacks. On December 26, the destroyer USS LABOON and F/A-18 Super Hornets flying from the carrier USS DWIGHT D EISENHOWER shot down three anti-ship ballistic missiles, two land-attack cruise missiles and twelve one-way aerial attack drones in launched by Houthi forces over a ten-hour period, US Central Command reported. None of the Houthi weapons caused any damage or injuries to ships in the area. On December 28 the destroyer USS MASON shot down another anti-ship ballistic missile and another aerial drone in the Southern Red Sea. Again, US Central Command reported no damage to any of the 18 merchant ships in the area.
Meanwhile, US efforts to establish Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect shipping in the southern Red Sea and around the Bab-al-Mandeb continue to meet with a lack of enthusiasm from many nations. Although the Pentagon said on December 22 that more than 20 countries would participate, a number have declined to place meaningful forces under the operation’s command, choosing instead to protect ships of their own flag or ownership. Denmark, after some delay, on December 29 announced it would send a frigate to the operation. Some shipping companies are rerouting their vessels around southern Africa rather than continuing to run ships through the troubled region, where at least a dozen merchant ships have been attacked by Houthi forces since November 19. About 30 percent of global containership traffic passes through the Red Sea, the primary maritime gateway between Europe and Asia.
The amphibious ships USS BATAAN and USS CARTER HALL passed northbound through the Suez Canal on December 28 after operating in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea since early August. The two ships are rejoining the third member of their amphibious ready group, USS MESA VERDE, which has been operating in the Mediterranean since mid-October. The three ships are embarking the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and have been deployed since July.
For the first time, China has appointed a naval officer as Defense Minister. Admiral Dong Jun, a former commander of the PLAN People’s Liberation Army Navy, was announced on December 29 as the new head of the Ministry of National Defense. The move follows the appointment on December 25 of Vice Admiral Hu Zhongming as the new commander of the Navy. Dong Jun’s predecessor as Defense Minister, General Li Shangfu, was dismissed from the post in October and has not been publicly seen since.
