Today, the oceanographic research vessel Admiral Vladimirsky is making a scheduled visit to Cuba. In the West, the long—range voyages of the Russian research fleet are closely monitored, and the press is often accused of secretive intelligence activities - Admiral Vladimirsky did not escape this fate either. What tasks the ship performs in the Caribbean and why its voyages cause concern in the West — in the Izvestia article.
Today, the oceanographic research vessel Admiral Vladimirsky is making a scheduled visit to Cuba. In the West, the long—range voyages of the Russian research fleet are closely monitored, and the press is often accused of secretive intelligence activities - Admiral Vladimirsky did not escape this fate either. What tasks the ship performs in the Caribbean and why its voyages cause concern in the West — in the Izvestia article.
The Russian guest
The Admiral Vladimirsky is making its fourth long-range cruise in the post-Soviet era. The ship left Kronstadt on March 13 this year, and in April visited the ports of Venezuela (La Guyaro) and Nicaragua. Admiral Vladimirsky conducts research in the Caribbean Sea. In particular, based on a request from the National Hydrography and Geodesy Service of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba, hydrographic studies will be conducted in the waters of a number of ports on the island.
"During the cruise, it is planned to obtain unique bathymetric data, conduct oceanographic and hydrometeorological studies along the route of the oceanographic research vessel," the Russian Defense Ministry said earlier.
Moreover, Russia is likely to share the materials obtained during this expedition with its allies in the region — Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
This is not the ship's first trip to this region.
In total, since its construction in 1975, Admiral Vladimirsky has made at least two dozen trips to various areas of the World Ocean, as well as to the Red, Mediterranean, Arabian and Black Seas.
A total of six vessels were built according to the 852 project. They became the largest ships of their class in the Russian Navy, but five of them were decommissioned and scrapped in the 1990s and early 2000s.
From 1991 to 1994, the ship underwent repairs in Poland, which may have saved it. At that time, the process of dividing the Black Sea Fleet, which included the ship, between Russia and Ukraine began. As a result, on July 26, 1994, the ship became part of the oceanographic vessels division of the sixth Atlantic Expedition (now it is a group of hydrographic vessels). In recent years, it has undergone a number of repairs and is maintained in good technical condition.
The "spy" reputation
The Russian research fleet has always attracted the close attention of Western countries.
In 2023, Western media reported on a joint "investigation" conducted by the special services and public organizations of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. In it, the ship Admiral Vladimirsky was explicitly named a spy ship.
In particular, it was claimed that Russian fishing and research vessels are allegedly used to monitor the underwater infrastructure. In addition, Russia was accused of planning sabotage in the North Sea in case of a possible conflict.
The current campaign was no exception. The Admiral Vladimirsky vessel, designed to solve a wide range of scientific tasks, and similar vessels exist in the fleets of NATO countries, was accused of spying on British submarines.
Interestingly, this is exactly the case when the subject of observation is missing. The British Navy currently has ten nuclear submarines, of which a maximum of three are combat-ready. The rest are in one stage or another of the repair work.
Constant espionage hysteria in the West is caused by the discovery of hydrographic buoys. Autonomous buoy stations are widely used to conduct research of the seas. They make it possible to carry out long-term measurements of the main characteristics of the ocean (current velocity and water temperature) in large water areas. They are unsuitable for exploring objects located on the ground or searching for submarines. Naturally, they can be washed up on the shores of a country — this is normal. But in the West, every time they make an anti-Russian media show out of it.
The presence of armed men on board the vessel, which the Russian side has been accused of more than once, is also easily explained by considerations of the safety of the vessel and its crew. Currently, marine units are constantly deployed on Russian Navy ships to solve anti-terrorist tasks in the ocean.
Scientific discoveries
Meanwhile, the scientific achievements of Russian research vessels are significant and fundamental and are clearly not limited only to the interests of the military department. For example, in December 1982 - May 1983, Admiral Vladimirsky, together with the ship Thaddeus Bellingshausen, made a circumnavigation of the Antarctic expedition. In 147 days, the sailors traveled 35,000 nautical miles. Extensive studies of the parameters of the water and air environment have been conducted, which have made it possible to clarify the dynamics of many atmospheric and oceanic processes. The nature of the Antarctic circumpolar current and coastal counterflow has been clarified. A unified scheme of circulation of the waters of the Southern Ocean is proposed.
A number of unknown seamounts have been found, and the coordinates of 13 islands have been clarified. As a result, the Antarctic lots were corrected, and the coordinates of the South Magnetic Pole were determined.
Of course, such knowledge, like most other scientific research, can be used both in the interests of the crews of fishing vessels and warships. Sailors can't do without them.
At the same time, such vessels can solve the tasks of studying the marine environment for foreign customers, as well as ensure Russia's participation in international treaties, for example, in the field of studying the seas surrounding Antarctica.
Izvestia reference
The Admiral Vladimirsky ship was built at the Polish shipyard in Szczecin. The displacement in full load is 9200 tons, the maximum speed is 19.2 knots.
At an economic speed of 14.5 knots, the vessel is capable of traveling 24,000 miles. The autonomy is 90 days. The crew is 77 people, capable of taking 76 expedition staff on board.
There are 18 laboratories on board, including hydrographic, aerological, oceanographic and others. It can carry a Ka-27 helicopter and several boats, including two hydrographic measuring boats.
Dmitry Boltenkov
Bogdan Stepovoy
