At least three groups of Russian vessels, including a submarine capable of launching long-range cruise missiles, passed through the waters near NATO member Portugal last week.
The Portuguese Air Force announced the movements of the Russian vessels in the country's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone from September 2 to 6. It had deployed Lockheed P-3C Orion anti-submarine and surveillance aircraft to shadow the visitors from Russia.
The most recent encounter occurred on September 6, when four ships from Russia sailed through Portugal's continental exclusive economic zone, including the Novorossiysk, an Improved Kilo-class submarine powered by diesel generators and assigned to the Black Sea Fleet.
The submarine has a 3,100-ton displacement when submerged. It can launch Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles with an estimated 932 to 1,553-mile range. This is a primary ground-strike weapon for the Russian navy that has seen extensive use in strikes against Ukraine.
Analyst Droxford Maritime said on X, formerly Twitter, that the submarine was likely heading toward the Mediterranean Sea to relieve the Ufa, a sister ship that is currently deployed to Tartus, a major port city of Syria where Russia has established a naval base.
The Novorossiysk is the first of six Black Sea Fleet's Improved Kilo-class submarines. One of its sister ships, the Rostov-on-Don, was sunk after a missile strike on Sevastopol, a Russia-occupied Crimean Black Sea port, on August 2 as claimed by Ukraine's military.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the Novorossiysk was in the Mediterranean Sea. It could not return to the Black Sea as Turkey had closed its straits accessing the sea. It concluded its repairs at a Saint Petersburg shipyard early this year.
According to the Portuguese Air Force, the Novorossiysk passed by with escorting tug Evgeniy Churov southward in the Atlantic Ocean off Portugal. They departed the Baltic Sea on August 29 and went through the Dover Strait and English Channel, between the U.K. and France, on September 2.
On Sunday, both the Novorossiysk and the Evgeniy Churov bypassed Cape St. Vincent, the southwesternmost point of Portugal. Droxford Maritime estimated that the two vessels would transit the Strait of Gibraltar eastbound to enter the Mediterranean Sea on Monday.
Another two Russian ships, the small seagoing tanker Vice Admiral Paromov and the sail training ship Kruzenshtern, were spotted sailing in the Portuguese economic waters on the same day. The former transited northward while the latter was on a southward voyage.
According to ship spotters, the Vice Admiral Paromov had been operating in the Mediterranean Sea from May 12 to August 20. Following a westward transit in the Strait of Gibraltar, it exited the Mediterranean Sea and sailed northward, likely returning to the Baltic Sea.
Russian state media Tass reported on August 29 that the Kruzenshtern, built in 1926 and named after Russian explorer Ivan Krusenstern, commenced its training voyage from the Russian territory Kaliningrad in the Baltic region. The ship is scheduled to visit Morocco.
Two more encounters, on September 2 and September 3, involved two Russian tankers, the General Skobelev and the Yaz, as they transited the Portuguese economic waters in a northward voyage, and the Atlantniro, moving southward.
Vessel-tracking data on the MarineTraffic website showed the General Skobelev and the Yaz, in the North Sea on Monday, after passing through the English Channel and the Dover Strait. Their reported destination was Saint Petersburg, with an estimated time of arrival on September 14 and 15, respectively.
The Atlantniro, a ship in fishing vessel configuration but associated with investigation and research activities, transited southward in the Portuguese territorial waters. Tracking data showed it was off the coast of the Northwest Africa on Monday.
Tass reported that the Atlantniro, which left Kaliningrad, assigned to Russia's Great African Expedition, will operate in 18 countries' economic waters for a comprehensive assessment of marine biological resources off the coast of the entire Africa.
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed and ratified by both Portugal and Russia, states that all vessels, including warships, enjoy the right of "innocent passage" through the territorial waters of other states in a continuous and expeditious way.
A territorial sea is a state's sovereign area of water measured 12 nautical miles from its coast. An exclusive economic zone is an area of the ocean, extending 200 nautical miles beyond a state's territorial sea, which covers international waters.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment by email.
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