Wednesday, September 10, 2014

"Yuriy Arshenevskiy" Ferries Russian Military Cargo to Kotelnyy Island

"Yuriy Arshenevskiy" in-port Severomorsk, August 2014
Amidst all the excitement of yet another Northern Fleet voyage to the New Siberian Islands, people have forgotten that not all the heavy military cargo arriving on Kotelnyy Island needs to be transported by naval landing ships. Why not on board "Yuriy Arshenevskiy"? In mid-August, a military service member commented that loading of cargo on "Yuriy Arshenevskiy" was nearly complete, and that the vessel would soon depart for Kotelnyy Island (his comment was subsequently deleted for unknown reasons). In late August, the above picture was taken of "Yuriy Arshenevskiy" in-port Severomorsk. The fact that this commercial vessel was tied up at a pier adjacent to Northern Fleet combatant ships suggested it would be carrying military cargo, particularly military hardware, in its large holds. "Yuriy Arshenevskiy" departed Severomorsk in late August, arrived at Kotelnyy Island on September 2 and, based on a lack of additional reporting, probably remained there as of yesterday.