What happened?
On October 4, the de facto leader of occupied Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, voiced an intention of Russia to establish a navy base near Ochamchire, a seaside town some 35 kilometers away from Anaklia, a key maritime location controlled by the central government of Georgia on the Black Sea coast. Bzhania’s announcement comes when Russia’s Black Sea fleet, harassed by Ukraine at its Crimean bases, is being relocated to safer harbors.
Significance in context
- Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea, is no longer a safe sanctuary for Russia’s invading fleet in the face of increasingly assertive Ukrainian forces. Russian frigates, submarines, and landing ships are being moored at Novorossiysk.
- Ochamchire harbor is too shallow to receive the major ships, but the dredging works by Russia in recent years mean that it can accept smaller vessels, including the missile corvettes that are actively used by Russia to strike targets inside Ukraine.
- If the Russian navy missile cruisers were to be permanently stationed in Ochamchire, the tactical importance of Georgia’s occupied coastline would increase considerably.
- Militarization of Ochamchire could be potentially highly damaging for the already delayed plans for Anaklia deep sea port, which is meant to increase the country’s commercial significance in the Black Sea.
Resurgent vision: Ochamchire Port is a long-pending project
Ochamchire port has “officially” been under direct Russian control since 2009 after the Kremlin signed so-called cooperation agreements on border protection with occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions. Based on these “agreements,” the Ochamchire port was turned into a base for Russian patrol vessels operating in the Black Sea. The permanent stationing of the larger vessels of the Russian Black Sea navy was discussed at that time also in connection with Ukraine, as the Russian lease on Crimea navy bases was slated to expire in 2017.
Yet, the extension of the lease agreement until 2042 by Ukraine’s then-President Viktor Yanukovych and the subsequent occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia put those plans on hold, and Ochamchire port remained a minor backwater harbor.
Ochamchire today
According to a study by Rondeli Foundation, a think tank, Ochamchire port can currently host up to ten coast guard patrol boats (Project 12200 “Sobol” and Project 12150 “Mangust” class). There is a direct rail link to the port, renovated by the Russian railway troops before the 2008 invasion of Georgia. As of 2022 the port was dredged to a depth of 9 meters.
Apart from being used for the patrol boat, the port was linked to contraband, namely the clandestine transportation of the coal mined by occupation authorities in Ukraine’s Luhansk. A boat carrying contraband sigarets manufactured in Syria, which passed through Ochamchire, was detained by the Ukrainian customs in 2017.
The port infrastructure is currently unlikely to be capable of receiving, for example Project 22800 Karakurt missile corvette, which recently moored in Sokhumi. Transforming it into a significant Russian fleet base would require comprehensive renovations.
Threats
Tbilisi condemned the decision as another attempt to “legitimizing” occupation. Opposition spoke of the failure of the ruling Georgian Dream party’s rapprochement policy towards Russia. The EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski called the occupied Abkhazia’s decision “extremely concerning.”
The concerns are legitimate because establishing another Russian navy base in the Black Sea will likely have serious repercussions:
- Despite the limited capabilities of the Ochamchire port, establishing a navy sanctuary for the Russian Black Sea Fleet will bolster its posture in the region. Russia itself is well aware of the advantages the Ochamchire port can offer;
- Additional Russian maritime base is a direct threat to Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as the country’s immediate security;
- Russia will acquire an additional leverage to disrupt commercial activities in the Black Sea, including an indirect leverage over Anaklia project;
- Potential use of the ships stationed in Ochamchire in active combat against Ukraine could threaten Georgia’s position as a non-combatant in that conflict and make its internationally recognized territory into a legitimate military target.
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