Russian naval units are currently showing brisk activity

Currently, all Steregushichiy-class corvettes in active service have left the Baltic Sea for operations.

RFS Merkurij 734 Photo: Michael Nitz

The modified RFS Merkuriy (734), which only entered service in May 2023, left the Baltic Sea for the Skagerrak on 13 May 2025 ahead of the Steregushchiy-class corvette RFS Stoikiy (545), which many observers consider to be a familiar unit assigned to the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy.

"Black Sea" corvette in the Barents Sea !

On Thursday, a recent photo was published on social media showing the RFS Merkuriy surprisingly moored in Severomorsk. A large military floating crane can be seen on the starboard side of the corvette in the online image, operating directly above the ship's VLS. The transfer of the RFS Merkuriy to Severomorsk and the supposed loading of the VLS underlie speculation that the corvette is directly in front of a firing section in the Barents Sea. The ship, which was built at the Severnaya shipyard in St. Petersburg and commissioned in May 2023, was actually intended to join the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet. However, due to the closure of the Bosporus to foreign warships, the 104.5 metre long and 2,200 tonne displacement unit has never seen its intended home port of Sevastopol or its main area of operation - the Black Sea.

Corvette RFS Stoikiy , behind it FGS Bad Bramstedt of the Federal Police Sea Photo: Michael Nitz

Completely monitored

Just a few days later, on 16 May 2025, the RFS Stoikiy, which entered service almost a decade before the RFS Merkuriy, followed its second-youngest sister ship on its transfer from the central Baltic Sea in the direction of Skagen. The transit of both combat ships through the Danish and German EEZs was closely monitored by the Royal Danish Navy with patrol boats and patrol vessels of the Coast Guard/Federal Police Sea.

According to observers, the RFS Stoikiy is currently tasked with escorting the Russian "weapon runner" RFS Sparta IV and the fuel tanker General Skobelev. Both ships deployed in the Syria Express left Tartus at the end of April and moved westwards. The Strait of Gibraltar was passed on 16 May 2025. The convoy is currently (23 May 2025, 11:00 a.m.) at Esbjerg; according to AIS data, the RFS Sparta IV intends to reach Kaliningrad on 27 May 2025.

Corvette RFS Stoikiy , behind it HDMS DNK P 525 of the Danish Navy Photo: Michael Nitz

On the port side of the corvette RFS Stoikiy (545), the FGS Bad Bramstedt (BP 24) of the Federal Police Sea and the patrol boat HDMS DNK Patrol P 525 of the Royal Danish Navy, which is escorting the Russian battleship, can be seen in the photos.

Text and photos: Michael Nitz ©naval press service