The number of its ships has increased by 50% since the beginning of the year Russian of the Navy that passed through its Strait Gibraltaraccording to their sources Spanish Ministry of Defense.
“The passage of Russian warships and submarines through the Strait increased by 50% compared to 2023,” said the sources, cited by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
“For security reasons”, however, they refuse to reveal the exact numbers, although an important source in the Spanish Navy speaks of “hundreds of ships”.
Passage of 100,000 ships per year
More than 100,000 ships pass through the Strait of Gibraltar every year. In the case of the Russian fleet, its presence in both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean is much more important after the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March 2014 and the capture of Sevastopol during the war with Ukraine.
Russian warships that have passed through the Strait of Gibraltar include submarines, frigates, corvettes, landing craft, logistics ships and, of course, many oil tankers.
On the Rock of Gibraltar, the United Kingdom maintains an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) and Communications (COMINT) Station, serving the British and US armed forces. The facility is complete with coastal reconnaissance radar and electro-optical instruments, designed to detect all surface vessels.