The ''Altay'' class, Soviet designation Project 160, is a class of

replenishment oiler A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. Th ...

built for the Soviet Navy between 1967 and 1972.

Construction

The ''Altay''-class vessels were built for the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

by the

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Rauma-Repola Metso Oyj was a Finnish industrial machinery company focusing on providing technology and services for mining, aggregates, and oil and gas, recycling, pulp and paper and other process industries. On 30 June 2020, Metso's partial demerger and ...

. Over 60 vessels of this type were built for Soviet service, most with the

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and merchant fleet. Only six vessels were ordered for service with the Soviet Navy. Project 160 tankers can refuel one ship at a time from either side or over the stern.''Guide to the Soviet Navy'' (Polmer)''Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World'' (Wertheim)russian-ships.info (accessed 29 Feb 2012)

Operational history

1993 ''Yel'nya'' incident

In April 1993, while in reserve with the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, ''Yel'nya'' was taken over by

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. After a brief seizure, control was reestablished by the Russian Navy. ''Yel'nya'' was later transferred to the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

2021 ''Kola'' Gulf of Suez collision and Suez Canal obstruction

On 23 March 2021, ''Kola'', along with ''Steregushchiy''-class corvette ''Stoikiy'', were in the northern part of the

Gulf of Suez The Gulf of Suez ( ar, خليج السويس, khalīǧ as-suwais; formerly , ', "Sea of Calm") is a gulf at the northern end of the Red Sea, to the west of the Sinai Peninsula. Situated to the east of the Sinai Peninsula is the smaller Gulf of ...

when ''Kola'' collided with civilian

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, eco ...

''Ark Royal''. The two ships, which were both approaching

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same bou ...

, sustained light damage, according to the Russian Navy. ''Kola'' and ''Ark Royal'' resumed sailing after the collision. That same day, ''Kola'' and ''Stoikiy'' were in the Gulf of Suez when the

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Ever Given ''Ever Given'' () is one of the largest container ships in the world. The ship is owned by Shoei Kisen Kaisha (a ship-owning and leasing subsidiary of the large Japanese shipbuilding company Imabari Shipbuilding), and is time chartered and op ...

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in the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...

, completely obstructing the canal. ''Kola'', along with ''Stoikiy'' and around 350 other ships on both sides of the canal, were forced to wait for the ''Ever Given'' to be refloated. Initially, ''Kola'' and ''Stoikiy'' were the only known military vessels to have been affected by the obstruction, however since normally military ships do not transmit their position to commercial websites, an unknown number of military ships were involved, with the

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being among the first ships to move through the canal. At the time of the incident, maritime tracking website vesselfinder.com temporarily misidentified ''Kola'' as ''Stoikiy'' (specifically "Russian Warship 545"); this was corrected on 25 March. As of 29 March, ''Kola'' was still anchored in the Gulf of Suez.

Ships in class

There were six vessels in the class.

References

{{reflist

External links

Project 160 medium seagoing tanker
(English) Cold War naval ships of the Soviet Union Oilers Ships built in Finland Auxiliary ships of the Soviet Navy Auxiliary replenishment ship classes