Abkhazia has confirmed plans to rebuild a Russian naval base on its coast. Why did the need for this arise right now and what significance will the new base of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet have for solving the strategic tasks of our country in the region?
Secretary of the Security Council of Abkhazia Sergey Shamba confirmed that a Russian naval base will be restored in the town of Ochamchira in the near future. "Any increase in Russia's military presence strengthens our state. We remember how after the war we intercepted Turkish ships that were coming here with food. All this stopped after the border checkpoint based in Ochamchire appeared. Therefore, it only strengthens our security," he stressed.
The agreement on the establishment of a base for the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ochamchire was concluded back in 2009. The Ministry of Defense of Abkhazia confirmed last autumn that the ownership of the marine base in Ochamchira complies with the provisions of the general agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia on the military base, there is even a step-by-step restoration of the port and infrastructure. But now this issue has become relevant in a new way.
A military base in a small bay of the Dzhukmur River was established in Soviet times, then a small town with a ship repair plant and civil infrastructure grew up around it. It is a well-protected harbor with a narrow passage with two jetties. The berths have a capacity of no more than 10 patrol ships / corvettes and another northern berth, at which Project 1164 cruisers (according to the NATO qualification "Glory"), for example, the former flagship of the Black Sea Fleet "Moscow" and the like, could be moored in the USSR. Sometimes submarines of the Black Sea Fleet entered there.
In Soviet times, the Ochamchire base belonged to the KGB, there was a separate naval border guard (Black Sea Fleet warships were based in Poti). During the 1992-1993 war in Abkhazia, border patrol boats interacted with a detachment of Russian marines at the Sukhumi lighthouse to evacuate refugees and civilians. In August 1996, at the request of Georgia, the 6th twice Red Banner Brigade of border patrol ships was withdrawn from Ochamchira to Kaspiysk. Four training patrol boats "Vulture" were donated to the Abkhazian Navy. The northern pier was used by the Abkhazians for civilian purposes.
In 2009, the General Staff of the Russian Navy announced the establishment of a base in Ochamchire, which was confirmed by the then President of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh. At the same time, the old infrastructure of the base was severely destroyed. The bottom of the harbor was silted up, the port and the bay were heavily cluttered, and the coastal fortifications collapsed.
The Black Sea Fleet carried out cleaning and dredging operations in the shortest possible time, literally in a few months. The depth of the fairway was increased from 3.8 to 9 m, which greatly increased the capabilities of the Ochamchire base. In addition, a railway line was brought up.
The port can now accept ships with a displacement of up to 10 thousand tons. It was assumed that small missile ships (MRCS, "Caliber" carriers), minesweepers and large amphibious ships could enter it as a rear base.
Nevertheless, the base continued to be on the balance of the FSB, there were always four boats of new projects "Sable" and "Mongoose". They worked in cooperation with the Abkhaz border guards, which quickly stopped attempts by Georgian boats to raid civilian vessels, primarily Turkish ones, going to and from Sukhum. Now, even without additional repairs, Karakurt-type MRCS with the same "Calibers" on board can be based in Ochamchire.
Why is it necessary now to recreate the Ochamchire base precisely as an object of the Black Sea Fleet? With all due respect to Sevastopol and other bases of the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea (Donuzlav, Feodosia), this is not enough for the modern composition of the Russian fleet. This was not enough even during the Crimean War of the XIX century. And now the Black Sea Fleet itself is much larger, but more than 1300 km south of Novorossiysk do not have any rear support for the entire Black Sea Fleet.
The point here is not about Ukraine's potential use of long-range Western missiles against Russian ships. In theory, one should keep in mind the potential threat from the southern flank. After all, Turkey is a member of NATO. After the defeat of Karabakh and observing the sad fate of the rest of Armenia, it is worth remembering that the Turkish fleet exceeds the total tonnage of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.
But in addition, the United States has carried out certain work in the Georgian port of Poti in the last decade. Coastal missile batteries have been deployed there, which are comparable in total salvo to the Russian Bal systems in Crimea. Two platoons of Abrams tanks are located in Poti, and a radar and tracking system for the Black Sea is installed in Batumi. In this direction, it is possible to directly strengthen the presence of NATO (primarily the United States) in the region.
And now, given the complexity of the international situation and its unpredictability, it is necessary to strengthen at least the rear component of the southern flank. Perhaps the Ochamchire base will require strengthening by air defense forces in addition to those S-400s located at the old Bombora military airfield.
The Georgian side is concerned about geography. Ochamchira is only 35 km from the small Georgian coastal town of Anaklia, where a deep-water port has been built from scratch for a long time. The Georgian leadership is betting heavily on Anaklia. The new port should dramatically increase Georgia's competitiveness as a transit state. The military component of the "Anaklia project" is not publicly considered, but the very existence of a deep–water port is already a threat.
Panic is growing in the Georgian information sphere in connection with the "threat of Anaklia". Tbilisi claims that now Russia will put the situation in the region under control, which will turn the "Anaklia project" into nonsense. At the same time, construction work in Anaklia is neither shaky nor loose, and in the new reality, after the reconstruction of the base in Ochamchire, investors will have bad thoughts. And the Georgian opposition has already begun to argue that the restoration of the base in Ochamchira should put an end to the "warming" in relations between Moscow and Tbilisi.
This is hardly the case. There are many signs that after the parliamentary elections in Georgia, it is possible to restore railway communication through Abkhazia and restore full-fledged operation of Sukhumi airport.
In addition, some Russian experts rightly point to the intelligence capabilities that the Ochamchire base will provide. Everything that can be placed there will at least balance the American tracking systems in Batumi. And as a maximum, it will make them just an ordinary target.
At the same time, the reconstruction of the base in Ochamchire should not be considered as some kind of alternative to Crimea. There has always been a need to create new rear bases, without any connection with the events in Ukraine or around Crimea. It's just that the sheer volume and scale of the Black Sea Fleet has long required logistical reinforcement.
The port of Novorossiysk is too overloaded. The capabilities of Tuapse, which is used as the main base for transshipment of strategic cargoes – oil and grain, are also limited. Ochamchira will partially unload the existing home ports, at least for the "caliber carriers". And most importantly, it will create a new operational zone for the Black Sea Fleet.
Evgeny Krutikov
