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Thursday, April 27, 2017

Russian Spy Ship Sinks

A Russian Navy signals intelligence spy ship, the Liman, with a crew of 78, sank after colliding with a Togo-flagged freighter in the Black Sea near Istanbul, Turkey (1).  The freighter, carrying 8000 sheep, was only slightly damaged and continued on its way.


Russian Ship Liman
Photo by Yoruk Isik(@yorukisik) (2)


There is no evidence that this was anything other than an accident but it makes you think, doesn’t it?  Wouldn’t it be a shame if a US freighter collided with a Russian spy ship off the east coast of the US?



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(1)Washington Post website, “Russian navy intelligence ship sinks after collision with freighter off Turkish coast ”, Kareem Fahim and Andrew Roth, 27-Apr-2017,

(2)https://twitter.com/yorukisik/status/666861817424158720?lang=en


12 comments:

  1. Yes, it would be a shame. Spy ships have been off the US coast for years. No reason to provoke a poor country with lots of thermonuclear weapons.

    The OOD on the Russian ship is going to get hammered, and rightfully so. No excuse for that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "No reason to provoke a poor country with lots of thermonuclear weapons."

      You're not serious, right? You're just kidding?

      Russia is not going to start flinging nuclear weapons because a freighter rams one of their spy ships. They didn't drop nukes on Turkey when that country shot down one of the planes.

      Is there any reason for Russia to provoke a rich country with lots of thermonuclear weapons? No, and yet they routinely do it.

      This kind of timidity and appeasement just breeds more aggressive actions by rogue nations.

      Delete
    2. Your joking suggestion ignores the fact that Soviet AGIs and later Russian ones are just doing their business as they have since the 1950s, same way our ships do.

      Not timidity and appeasement, knowledge and perspective.

      Delete
    3. "Your joking suggestion ignores"

      I'm only half joking. Or maybe 25% joking. Or maybe I'm not joking?

      I have absolutely no problem with foreign ships and aircraft "spying" on us as long as they do so in compliance with all international laws and norms. The Russians, however, with their constant unsafe buzzings of our aircraft and ships have forfeited the right to conduct unhindered surveillance. It's long past time to return the favor, set some hard behavioral boundaries for them, and re-exert OUR RIGHT TO SAIL THE SEAS AND FLY THE SKIES WITHOUT UNSAFE INTERFERENCE. So, it's time for them to be on the receiving end of the same treatment they inflict on us. To do otherwise is timid appeasement (is there any other kind of appeasement? - the "timid" may have been redundant!).

      Delete
    4. We've gone over that "buzzing" stuff before. Maybe there was one incident in the Baltic that was bona fide "unsafe," rest propagandistic framing, like the OMG Russian Spy ship 50 miles off the coast!!" shit.

      I remember once I was OOD in the Tyrrhenian Sea on a destroyer back in the 80s. A Soviet AGI, might have been the Liman itself, was fooling around, putting herself in a crossing situation with us.

      The XO was on the bridge, told me to change course to make a wide CPA. Then the Captain came on the bridge and chewed my ass for changing course. Fun times, I looked at XO and shrugged. I guess the Captain thought I was appeasing, but XO's call better than playing chicken.

      We got "buzzed" by a Badger and a May at a couple hundred feet, too.

      Delete
    5. Guess it could not have been the Liman, only was converted to an AGI in 1989.

      Delete
  2. Happened at 1145am in heavy fog, so captain should have been on the bridge and should be hammered, too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maybe the captain was already "hammered" and that's why it happened.

    MM-13B

    ReplyDelete
  4. Could you please credit my name or Twitter account for the picture. Thank you. Yoruk Isik / @yorukisik

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gladly! I've modified the post to list your photo credit. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

      Delete
  5. Better Have DODGE build them a ship next time.

    ReplyDelete

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