Black Sea Fleet Renovation Skids

20.10.2011 On Oct 19, 2011 Russia and Ukraine were supposed to sign an agreement regulating terms of Black Sea Fleet (BSF) renovation, writes Izvestiya. It was planned to sign the document during the one-day visit of Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdiukov to Ukraine to meet with his counterpart Mikhail Yezhel. Nevertheless, the agreement was not tied; according to the newspaper, the reason was Ukraine's intentions to tighten control over BSF rearmament.

Russian defense ministry has not commented the negotiations so far. Summarizing the talks, Serdiukov said that "some issues have not been settled so far, in particular, replacement of worn-out warships and equipment". According to Izvestiya referred to an informed source, the agreement was not reached because Ukraine wants to control every step taken by Russian defense ministry on the way of BSF renovation.

In addition, Ukrainian party wants new Russian warships to be maintained and repaired by Ukrainian shipyards. In its turn, Russia is about to make its fleet as much independent from Ukraine as possible.

BSF treaty prolonging deployment of Russian troops in Sevastopol for 25 years was tied in Apr 2010. According to this document, the parties must develop inspection and approval procedures to assess strength and condition of the fleet based abroad. In fact, this means Russia would need approval for every action, e.g. commission of new ships, modernization of quayside, improvement of coastal assets, etc.

Russian military raised the question of BSF renovation in summer 2010 when it was reported about plans to deploy in Sevastopol six Project 11356 frigates, six Project 636 submarines, Project 20385 corvettes, and about ten small-size missile and gun ships. According to plans, by 2030 Black Sea Fleet would operate about 35-40 up-to-date ships. Renovation of the Russian fleet based in Ukraine is provided by State Arms Program 2011-2020.