Russia Launches New Oceanographic Vessel for Underwater Infrastructure Surveillance

Russia has launched a new oceanographic research vessel, Vice Admiral Burilychev, designed for underwater infrastructure surveillance.

The Vice Admiral Burilychev (Project 22011) is intended for the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The launch took place without ceremony at the Vyborg Shipbuilding Plant, according to the ZBIAM.

The keel for the vessel, designated yard number 236, was laid on February 6, 2021. It is named after Vice Admiral Alexei Burylichev, who headed the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research for 15 years until his death on November 25, 2020.

Project 22011 is a modernization of the earlier Project 22010 Kruys class and was developed by the Almaz Design Bureau in St. Petersburg. Two vessels of the 22010 class — Yantar and Almaz — were built at the Yantar Baltic Shipyard in Kaliningrad. Yantar entered service with Russia’s Northern Fleet on May 23, 2015. The second vessel, Almaz, began testing in March 2020 but has not yet been commissioned.

Vessels of the Project 22010 and 22011 classes have a full displacement of 5,230 tons, hull dimensions of 108.1 by 17.2 meters, and a crew of 60. They are powered for speeds up to 15 knots, with a range of 8,000 nautical miles and an endurance of 60 days.

While officially designated for oceanographic research — including seabed exploration using deep-sea submersibles such as Rus, Konsul, and Mir — the vessels are widely believed to support reconnaissance of underwater infrastructure, including subsea cables and pipelines. They are also capable of participating in underwater rescue operations.

In November 2024, the Irish Navy forced the Yantar — a Project 22010 ship — to leave Ireland’s exclusive economic zone. The Russian vessel had been operating near key undersea cables and energy pipelines.

On November 14, Yantar was spotted east of Dublin and southwest of the Isle of Man. A few days earlier, on November 11 and 12, it was seen west of Cork, near transatlantic cable routes linking Ireland and France.

Ireland’s Navy patrol ship James Joyce escorted Yantar out of the exclusive economic zone at around 3 a.m. on November 15. The Irish Air Corps continued to monitor the vessel’s movements.