Russia's fleet of research vessels is in a ‘catastrophic, crisis state,’ says Defense Ministry

For the past year, news headlines throughout the West have warned about Russia’s rising international influence. With all this talk of Moscow on the rise, it might surprise you to learn that the Russian Defense Ministry now says the country’s fleet of research vessels is in a “catastrophic, crisis state,” according to a new report about Russia’s maritime national security.

Most of the ships are at least 30-35 years old, and wear and tear could force Russia’s Hydrometeorology Service to cease all work in the coming years, halting all monitoring expeditions of the country’s inland waters and territorial sea.

A plan to invest more than 87 billion rubles ($1.5 billion) in a new federal program was drafted in 2015, but it’s yet to be adopted.