Brand new Vsevolod Bobrov auxiliary Russian Navy ship possibly hit by Ukrainian missile in Black Sea.

The Russian logistics ship Vsevolod Bobrov reportedly caught fire after being hit by a Ukrainian missile near Zmiinyi Island: Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration, confirmed the attack against this ship, one of the newest ones of the Russian Navy. But he didn't bring any evidence of this claim.
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Vsevolod Bobrov is the second Project 23120 vessel built by the Severnaya Verf Shipyard (Picture source: Severnaya Verf)

According to the information posted by Mikhail Voytenko in Maritime Security on Mai 12, 2022, the supply and icebreaking ship indeed suffered a fire during the May 11-12 night, while heading to the famous Ukrainian Snake island. According to a Ukrainian military intelligence leak, some or all of the crew members were evacuated, but the ship didn’t sink. She was taken back to Sevastopol, its Russian Navy base. No checked details are available about this fire. The ship is now docked in Sebastopol and is in need of extensive repairs, Mikhail Voytenko reports in Maritime Security.

As with the frigate Admiral Makarov, the mystery remains but something heavy did really happen. Russian Navy (as well as Air and Ground force) losses in the war against Ukraine are frightening, taking into account the total lack of adversary: Ukraine doesn’t have a navy worth mentioning, virtually none at all, except some boats, Mikhail Voytenko recalls.

The Vsevolod Bobrov is the second Project 23120 vessel built by the Severnaya Verf Shipyard. The Elbrus lead vessel joined the Northern Fleet in 2018. In 2019, it made a 175-day round-the-world voyage with other Russian warships led by the Project 22350 frigate Admiral Gorshkov. Project 23120 was upgraded according to the results of the operation of the lead vessel. In particular, its deck has been improved and communication and navigation systems have been upgraded.

The vessel is multifunctional: it can carry out loading, transportation and transfer of goods; tow ships, up to the aircraft carrier; participate in rescue operations and provide medical assistance to those in distress (equipped with a pressure chamber for decompression); conduct mapping of the bottom topography and search for sunken objects. The hull of the vessel with the ice-class ARC4 will allow it to sail in the Arctic latitudes, overcoming the ice thickness of 60 cm.

The Vsevolod Bobrov has a length of 95m and a width of 22 m with a maximum draught of 9m. The vessel can accommodate a crew of 27 people and up to 43 rescuees. It can store and transport payloads weighing 4.5 t or up to 40 shipping containers. The deck is equipped with two large, collapsible, electro-hydraulic cranes towards the stern to lift cargo weighing up to 50t. It is also outfitted with main and auxiliary towing winches with a pulling capacity of 120t and 25t respectively for towing ships in distress.

The ships are designed to patrol the Russian territorial waters and exclusive economic zone in the Arctic. During the launching ceremony of the lead ship, it was announced that two additional ships of slightly revised design would be built for the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation by Vyborg Shipyard. 

Project 23120 Vsevolod Bobrov (Picture source: fleetmon.com)