Having previously made a stop and official visit to Venezuela, the Russian Navy’s oceanographic research vessel Admiral Vladimirsky arrived yesterday at the port of Havana, Cuba, as part of a scientific expedition. Beyond the officially stated purposes announced by the Russian Embassy on its social media platforms, the presence of the vessel, which belongs to the Baltic Fleet, has once again raised concerns in the United States—similar to what occurred last year with the visit of several Russian naval flotillas to the Caribbean country.
According to official reports from Russian state-affiliated media, and within the framework of the preparations and celebrations for Victory Day—commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany—the Admiral Vladimirsky set sail from Kronstadt on March 13 as part of a new scientific cruise.
Belonging to the Akademik Krylov class, the Admiral Vladimirsky is an oceanographic research vessel with a displacement of over 9,000 tons, a length of 147.8 meters, and a beam of 18.6 meters. It was built by the Szczecin Shipyard for the Soviet Navy and was later incorporated into the Russian Navy.
However, beyond its scientific function, various Western reports have indicated that the ship is also used as an intelligence-gathering platform in different regions. Among its tasks is mapping the seabed to identify the location of underwater cables and gas pipelines. As a result, its presence in the Baltic region—its main area of operations—is under constant surveillance by NATO naval forces.
Returning to the itinerary of the research cruise, prior to arriving in Cuba, the Admiral Vladimirsky made an official visit and stop in Venezuela at the end of April, where it received a visit from President Nicolás Maduro. The Russian vessel then set sail for Nicaragua for a logistical stop and to hold protocol meetings.
Given this itinerary and the vessel’s recent arrival in Cuba, the choice of destinations is far from coincidental. Moscow maintains, fosters, and sustains strong diplomatic ties with Caracas, Managua, and Havana, which is a persistent concern for the United States—especially when Russian naval assets operate in the Caribbean Sea.
One need only recall the events of last year, when two Russian flotillas—led by some of the Russian Navy’s most modern frigates and nuclear submarines—visited Havana, prompting the deployment of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard assets to monitor their movements.
In that context, during June of last year, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan (K-561) and the missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov—two of the Russian Navy’s most advanced surface and subsurface combat platforms—visited Cuba, accompanied by support ships.
The presence on that occasion of a unit from the Yasen-M class—the most advanced class of submarines in the Russian Navy—prompted a response from the United States. In an unusual move, it revealed that one of its nuclear submarines, the USS Helena (SSN-725), was located in Guantánamo, as U.S. Navy and Special Operations Command rarely disclose the whereabouts of such strategic deterrence platforms.
As for the current visit of the Admiral Vladimirsky, it has not been officially reported whether the U.S. Navy has deployed assets or personnel to monitor it. However, it is likely that such capabilities are being prepared, given the potential dual-use nature of the Russian Navy’s oceanographic vessel and the strategic interest in its activities in the Caribbean Sea.
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