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 6th 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:

More on the topic