The Presence of NATO Non-Black Sea States’ Warships in the Black Sea in November-December 2021

12:40 14.12.2021

Ukraine

The U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) in the Bosphorus on the way to the Black Sea on 25 November 2021. Photo: https://twitter.com/YorukIsik/media

The Monitoring Group of BlackSeaNews
and the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies

The Monitoring Group reports that in November-December 2021, five ships of non-Black Sea NATO countries were present in the Black Sea – four of them from the U.S. Sixth Fleet and one belongs to the French Navy:

the guided missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78): 30 Oct. – 16 Nov. 2021;
the replenishment oiler USNS John Lenthall (T-AO-189): 03 Nov. – 14 Nov. 2021;
The flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet USS Mount Whitney (LLC 20): 04 Nov. – 15 Nov. 2021;
The guided missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) has been in the Black Sea since 25 Nov. 2021 and is still there at the time of this publication.
The missile frigate of the French Navy FS Auvergne (D654) - has been in the Black Sea since 13 Dec. 2021 and is still there at the time of this publication.

Since the beginning of 2021, as of 14 December, 31 ships from NATO non-Black Sea states have visited the Black Sea. This is the largest number since 2014, i.e. for the entire period of Russia's occupation of Crimea.

Figure 1. The Presence of NATO Non-Black Sea States’ Warships in the Black Sea in 1991–2021

As in previous years, in 2021, most of the visits to the Black Sea by ships of NATO non-Black Sea countries – 13 out of 31 – have been made by the U.S. Sixth Fleet.

Entries of NATO Warships to the Black Sea Since the Collapse of the Soviet Union (1991 – 2021)

In Table 1 below, the visits by U.S. ships are highlighted in grey, Spanish – in yellow. As of the date of publication, the breakdown of visits by country is as follows.

The U.S.A. – 13
Spain – 5
The Great Britain – 3
Italy – 3
Greece – 3
France – 3
The Netherlands – 1

Table 1. The Presence of NATO Non-Black Sea States’ Warships in the Black Sea in 2021
(as of 14 December 2021)

#	*Country*	*Name*	*Dates*	*Ports*	*Notes*

1	USA	USS Donald Cook (DDG 75)	23.01 - 10.02.2021	Batumi (05 - 06.02)	Guided missile destroyer / Ракетний есмінець
2	USA	USNS Laramie (T-AO-203)	25.01 - 08.02.2021		Replenishment ship / Допоміжний корабель
3	USA	USS Porter (DDG 78)	28.01 - 10.02.2021		Guided missile destroyer / Ракетний есмінець
4	Greece	HS Evropi (M 62)	25.02 - 06.03.2021	Constanta (26.02 - 01.03; 05.03)	Minesweeper/ Тральщик
5	Spain	ESPS Tajo (M 36)	25.02 - 18.03.2021	Constanta (26.02 - 01.03; 05 - 08.03), Odesa (10 - 14.03)	Minesweeper/ Тральщик
6	Spain	ESPS Cristobal Colon (F 105)	12.03 - 22.03.2021	Poti (15 - 18.03), Constanta (18 - 21.03)	Guided missile Frigate/ Фрегат
7	Spain	ESPS Mendez Nunez (F 104)	17.03 - 01.04.2021	Constanta (17 - 21.03; 26 - 27.03), Samsun (29 - 31.03)	Guided missile Frigate/ Фрегат
8	Greece	HS Ypoploiarchos Kristallidis (P 69)	19.03 - 27.03.2021	Constanta (19 - 21.03)	Missile Boat / Ракетний катер
9	USA	USS Monterey (CG-61)	19.03 - 24.03.2021	Constanta (22 - 23.03)	Guided missile Cruiser/ Ракетний крейсер
10	USA	USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116)	20.03 - 23.03.2021		Guided missile destroyer / Ракетний есмінець
11	USA	USS Hamilton (WMSL 753)	27.04 - 14.05.2021	Batumi (04-06.05), Odesa (10-11.05)	US Coast Guard cutter/ Корабель Берегової охорони
12	France	FS Commandant Birot (F 796)	11.05 - 28.05.2021	Constanta (13 - 17.05), Varna (22 - 26.05)	Corvette / Корвет
13	United Kingdom	HMS Trent (Р224)	16.05 - 04.06.2021	Odessa (18 - 25.05; 27.05 - 02.06)	Patrol vessel / Патрульний корабель
14	USA	USS Laboon (DDG 58)	11.06 - 25.06.2021	Constanta (18 - 20.06)	Guided missile destroyer / Ракетний есмінець
15	United Kingdom	HMS Defender (D 36)	14.06 - 02.07.2021	Odessa (18 - 22.06), Batumi (25 - 30.06)	Guided missile destroyer / Ракетний есмінець
16	Netherlands	HNLMS Evertsen (F 805)	14.06 - 02.07.2021	Odessa (18 - 22.06), Constanta (26 - 30.06)	Guided missile Frigate / Ракетний фрегат
17	France	FS ALIZE (A 645)	16.06 - 27.06.2021	Constanta (23 - 26.06)	DGSE diving support / Розвідувально-водолазне судно
18	USA	USS Ross (DDG 71)	26.06 - 16.07.2021	Odessa (27 - 30.06; 02 - 06.07), Varna (11 - 14.07)	Guided missile destroyer / Ракетний есмінець
19	United Kingdom	HMS Trent (Р 224)	28.06 - 17.07.2021	Odessa (02 - 06.07), Varna (11 - 14.07)	Patrol vessel / Патрульний корабель
20	Italy	ITS Virginio Fasan (F 591)	01.07 - 21.07.2021	Odessa (03 - 06.07), Varna (11 - 14.07)	Guided missile Frigate / Ракетний фрегат
21	Spain	ESPS Rayo (P 42)	07.07 - 27.07.2021	Varna (09 - 14.07)	Patrol vessel / Патрульний корабель
22	USA	USNS Yuma (T-EPF-8)	08.07 - 16.07.2021	Odessa (10 - 12.07), Batumi (14.07)	Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport/ Високошвидкісний експедиційний транспорт
23	Greece	HS Ypoploiarchos Daniolos (P 68)	10.07 - 19.07.2021	Varna (11 - 14.07)	Missile Boat / Ракетний катер
24	Italy	ITS Luigi Durand de la Penne (D 560)	18.08 - 26.08.2021	Varna (18 - 20.08), Odessa (22 - 24.06)	Guided missile destroyer / Ракетний есмінець
25	Spain	ESPS Rayo (P-42)	23.09. - 13.10.2021	Batumi (27 - 30.09), Samsun (07 - 11.10)	Patrol vessel / Патрульний корабель
26	Italy	ITS Viareggio (5559)	23.09. - 13.10.2021	Batumi (27 - 30.09), Samsun (07 - 11.10)	Minesweeper/ Тральщик
27	USA	USS Porter (DDG 78)	30.10 - 16.11.2021	Batumi (08 - 10.11), Constanta (12 - 14.11)	Guided missile destroyer / Ракетний есмінець
28	USA	USNS John Lenthall (T-AO-189)	03.11 - 14.11.2021	Constanta (05 - 08.11)	Replenishment oiler / Судно забезпечення
29	USA	USS Mount Whitney (LLC 20)	04.11 - 15.11.2021	Batumi (08 - 10.11), Constanta (12 - 14.11)	The flagship of the 6^th US Navy Fleet/ Штабний корабель 6-го флоту США
30	USA	USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51)	25.11 - 15.12.2021	Varna, BG (26-28.11) Constanta, RO (05.12-15.12)	Guided missile destroyer / Ракетний есмінець
31	France	FS Auvergne (D 654)	14.12 - 02.01.2022	Constanta, RO (16-20.12) Odesa, UA (24-28.12)	Guided missile Frigate / Ракетний фрегат

* * *

The U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) in the Bosphorus on the way from the Black Sea on 16 November 2021. Photo: https://twitter.com/YorukIsik/media

The U.S. replenishment oiler USNS John Lenthall (T-AO-189) in the Bosphorus on the way from the Black Sea on 14 November 2021. Photo: https://twitter.com/YorukIsik/media

The flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet USS Mount Whitney (LLC 20) in the Bosphorus on the way to the Black Sea, 04 November 2021. Photo: https://twitter.com/YorukIsik/media

Guided missile Frigate of the French Navy FS Auvergne (D654). Photo: https://shipshub.com/

* * *

This article has been prepared with the support of the European Union in Ukraine. The content of the article is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the position of the EU

Теми:

The Presence of NATO Non-Black Sea States’ Warships in the Black Sea in November-December 2021

More on the topic