Forbidden Fleet: the Russian Federation has strengthened the protection of ports in the Baltic

Russia is strengthening the security of its seaports on the Baltic Sea. Earlier, the special services stopped an attempted sabotage in the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region. Nikolai Patrushev, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation and head of the Maritime Board, paid special attention to the safety of cargo transportation and underwater inspection of ships. Experts believe that the created security system reliably covers shipping in the Baltic. Meanwhile, NATO continues to escalate tensions in the region and is conducting a series of exercises to practice the blockade of the Baltic Sea. However, the scenario of direct aggression is still unlikely, as Russia retains a military advantage there.

How Russia protects its seaports

Russian special services have prevented a terrorist attack on the Russian gas carrier Arrhenius. It arrived from Belgium at the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region. The ship was supposed to be loaded and shipped to Turkey. During the inspection of the underwater part, divers found explosive devices such as marine magnetic mines, presumably manufactured in NATO countries. Due to the risks of sabotage, the Russian authorities intend to strengthen the security of the port infrastructure.

The Arrhenius vessel (gas carrier), which arrived from the Belgian port of Antwerp at the port of Ust-Luga in the Kingisepp district of the Leningrad region for loading and onward to the Turkish port of Samsun

Photo: TASS/TSOS of the FSB of the Russian Federation

In particular, on May 26, Nikolai Patrushev, Assistant to the President of Russia and head of the Maritime Board, inspected the work of the Large Seaport of St. Petersburg. He paid special attention to ensuring the safety of cargo transportation and conducting underwater inspections of ships arriving at the port from abroad.

"Problematic issues related to the organization of inspections are promptly resolved when they arise, there are no ship delays, which is confirmed by daily reports from the administrations of seaports," the Maritime Board told Izvestia.

The port management informed that all arriving vessels are subject to inspection. Russian Navy specialists check the absence of explosive objects, divers inspect the underwater parts of the ships. To prevent ships from standing in the waters of unfriendly countries, an anchorage will be built in the Gulf of Finland, accommodating dozens of ships. There is also a warning system for UAV attacks.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Vitaly Ankov

According to political scientist Denis Denisov, attempts at sabotage are part of an asymmetric conflict strategy. The West does not risk entering into an open confrontation with the Russian Federation, and it is not possible to achieve success in its zone. Therefore, terrorist attacks will continue. The threat can be stopped by strengthening security measures.

Port Captain Alexander Volkov reported to Nikolai Patrushev on the state of the port and its prospects. According to him, previously the port could accommodate ships with a draft of 11 m, but the new terminals will increase this figure to 14 m. The large port of St. Petersburg is extremely important for the supply of fertilizers, its capacity at the beginning of 2026 is 103.7 million tons, of which 88.7 million tons of dry cargo and 15 million tons of bulk cargo. There are plans to increase these volumes to 120 million tons.

The Northern Capital is the beginning of the Transarctic Transport Corridor, which runs through the Baltic, the seas of the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean to Vladivostok. Vessels for the development of this route are being built at the Baltic Shipyard, which Patrushev awarded with the Order of Valiant Labor. The Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation presented awards to the most distinguished employees of the company. The plant has built more than 600 ships over the 170 years of its existence.

NATO is preparing for a blockade of the Baltic Sea

Meanwhile, the North Atlantic Alliance has moved to directly practice the blockade of the Baltic Sea for Russian ships. Finland, together with Germany and the United States, is conducting exercises on the installation of minefields, deployment of anti-ship missile systems and interaction with aviation at the Narrow Waters 26-1 exercises in the Gulf of Finland from May 18 to 29. The total number of military personnel involved will be about 3 thousand. Aurora 26 maneuvers with the participation of Ukrainian UAV consultants were completed earlier in Sweden. And in June, the BALTOPS 26 exercises with an emphasis on anti-submarine defense will be held in the Baltic Sea. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Keistutis Budris openly calls for an attack on the Kaliningrad region.

Narrow Waters 26-1 Naval Exercises in Finland

Photo: TASS/IMAGO/Lehtikuva/Antti Aimo-Koivisto

At the same time, the bloc seeks to interfere with Russian maritime trade in order to reduce Moscow's export revenues. One of the ways is to detain courts that allegedly act in the interests of Moscow. Sweden and Estonia are doing this in the Baltic. In early May, the Swedish authorities detained the Jin Hu ship sailing under the Syrian flag.

In response to the militarization of the region by NATO countries, Moscow is using a wide range of measures. In particular, Russia will continue to develop the Baltic Fleet to counter emerging threats, the Russian Maritime Board told Izvestia.

The construction of warships in the Baltic did not stop even in the "dashing 90s," Yuri Zverev, director of the Center for Foreign Regional Studies and Regional Studies at the I. Kant BFU, told Izvestia. The Baltic Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad is currently building large amphibious assault ships, while diesel submarines of the Lada project 677 and multipurpose corvettes and frigates capable of carrying Zircon hypersonic missiles are being created in St. Petersburg.

— The development strategy of the Russian Navy until 2050 involves the massive introduction of autonomous unmanned complexes, and for sure many of them will be built in the Baltic, since St. Petersburg is the capital of Russian shipbuilding and Russian naval science. It is here that the National Research Center for Shipbuilding named after Academician Alexei Krylov is being created in accordance with a government decree dated April 8 this year," the expert said.

Photo: TASS/Alexander Kazakov

Russia protects its maritime communications: for example, in April, the frigate Admiral Grigorovich escorted two oil tankers across the English Channel. Nikolai Patrushev also warned that the vessels would be covered by mobile firing groups.

According to Zverev, according to open Western sources, NATO countries with access to the Baltic Sea have 11 diesel submarines, six destroyers, 12 frigates, 11 corvettes and 10 missile boats. This is without taking into account the Navy of neighboring Norway and other countries of the bloc, primarily the United States and Great Britain, which can transfer their ships to the Baltic.

— We are inferior in submarines and destroyers, not very much in frigates and missile boats, and we have superiority in corvettes. It should also be borne in mind that the ships and boats of the Russian Federation are equipped with powerful anti—ship missile weapons - Kalibr, Onyx, Moskit, and X—35 anti-ship missiles, which surpass their Western counterparts in a number of key parameters," said Yuri Zverev.

Russian anti-ship missiles are significantly superior to their Western counterparts in terms of maximum range. In the version designed to strike at ground targets, the Kalibr has an open-source range of up to 2.6 thousand km and can carry a nuclear charge. Baltic Fleet ships equipped with these missiles can carry out nuclear deterrence, hitting NATO Naval bases in the Baltic and even beyond.

Photo: TASS/Vitaly Nevar

Without the involvement of American ships with Tomahawk cruise missiles, none of the Baltic fleets of NATO countries is able to compete on equal terms with the Russian Baltic Fleet. As long as Russia retains its advantage, the North Atlantic Alliance is unlikely to decide to close the Baltic Sea to Russian ships, despite calls from Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn.