By Olha Chepil | 2025-08-21

A brand-new Arctic tug meant to withstand crushing sea ice couldn't survive a calm Saint Petersburg pier. On the morning of August 9, the Kapitan Ushakov, the Russian navy's latest Arctic vessel, sank at its mooring before ever touching open water.

The accident, which unfolded before residents and shipyard workers, quickly became a vivid emblem of Russia's naval decline. The tug had been built for the unforgiving conditions of the Arctic but never left port.

"This just illustrates the typical Russian sloppiness, violation of safety procedures and, most likely, drunkenness on board," Andrii Klymenko, head of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies, told Kontur.

A symbol of failure

Fontanka, a local newspaper, reported the vessel began listing on the evening of August 8. By morning, it had settled on the bottom of the Bolshaya Nevka River alongside the Baltic Shipyard, where it was undergoing work. Residents described shock at the sight.

"My son works in shipbuilding and says that this was most likely an operational error: the vessel was under repair, and there could have been any sort of hidden cracks or fissures," Anna Rapoport, who lives in the city, told Kontur.

Workers labored through the night to save the tug but failed. The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on safety violations during repair. The Yaroslavl Shipyard, which built the vessel, said the cause would be clear only after it is raised.

"The issue is most likely incompetent workers. It's the human factor: someone didn't shut something that needed to be shut, or they opened something," Maksym Palamarchuk, an expert at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, told Kontur.

The Kapitan Ushakov is nearly 70 meters long and 15 meters wide. It was launched in 2022 and then underwent further configuration at the Baltic Shipyard.

"The 'Kapitan Ushakov' is a rather large tug, a real workhorse for the fleet. This is a big blow for Russia," Palamarchuk noted.

He added the Russian navy now faces "major challenges." Construction of the class began in 2014 but has been plagued by funding shortfalls and difficulties replacing imported machinery.

Named for Admiral Fyodor Ushakov, the vessel was intended to honor naval tradition. Instead, it has become a symbol of downfall for Russia's troubled shipbuilding industry.

"It's just Russian disorder. The vessel never even got a chance to enter operation. Such a multipurpose ship and such a failure," Viktor Yahun, a reserve major general in the Security Service of Ukraine, told Kontur.

A sinking fleet

The sinking of the Kapitan Ushakov brought attention to a broader crisis in Russia's navy, analysts say, one that reaches from frontline warships to auxiliary vessels.

The fleet suffers from manpower shortages, chronic underfunding and neglect, according to Palamarchuk.

"These ships often rot away somewhere or stand in cesspools. Now, during this war against Ukraine, the fleet's problems are remaining an afterthought," he said.

Western sanctions have blocked access to critical parts, stalling construction and repairs. Frigates in Project 11356 Burevestnik, a naval shipbuilding initiative to produce guided-missile frigates for the Black Sea Fleet, were delayed due to missing gas turbine engines.

"The sanctions hit the Russian fleet hard -- there are no spare parts," Yahun said.

The modernization of the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko dragged on for years, while the carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's only one, was taken out of service and may be scrapped after four decades. Prolonged refits are routine: the cruiser Admiral Nakhimov has been under repair since 1999.

Alexander Kovalenko, a military expert and analyst for the website InfoResist, cited the amphibious ship Ivan Gren as another example.

"The ship was under construction for more than 11 years and was delivered with numerous defects. During acceptance trials, about 40 serious flaws were identified, some of which critically affected even its stability -- that is, its ability to maintain balance on the sea's surface," Kovalenko told Kontur.

Today, most of Russia's combat ships are either bottled up in port or destroyed. Ukrainian strikes have pushed the Black Sea Fleet off its main battlefield.

"While the Chinese fleet grows vigorously, the Russian fleet obviously looks weak. They can no longer build large ships," Yahun said.

The shadow fleet

The Kapitan Ushakov disaster coincided with growing risks tied to Russia's so-called shadow fleet -- tankers and auxiliary ships that ferry oil and weapons while skirting sanctions and oversight.

"[These tankers] stop at Russian ports, and supposedly they're inspected there. Very often oil is just transferred to another tanker at sea -- at anchor in India, Egypt or off Greece," Kateryna Yaresko, a journalist for the SeaKrime project of the Myrotvorets Center, told Kontur.

The condition of these vessels is alarming, she added. "They're not inspected. And in fact, we don't have confidence in their serviceability status because it's unclear who is doing it and how."

The Baltic Sea is particularly at risk, with tankers carrying 100,000-150,000 tons of oil through narrow waters. A spill could endanger NATO and EU coastlines.

"These countries can only hope that Russia will inspect the serviceability status of a tanker before loading it. But that's an uncertain hope," Yaresko said.

Ship-to-ship transfers, when oil or gas is shifted between vessels outside port, further obscure cargo origins and help Moscow dodge sanctions, analysts say. But the practice heightens the danger of accidents and environmental disasters.

"Russia conducts many operations like these -- on a mass scale as though they are state policy, not an exception. And the likelihood of accidents is very high," Yaresko said.

Chronic disorder, sanctions, worker shortages, outdated technology and corruption have left Russia's fleet increasingly vulnerable.

"This demonstrates how much Russia's shipbuilding and fleet have declined," Kovalenko said.