3rd project 21631 ship will join the navy tomorrow.
Do not really know why Russia is planning to build so many of these ships to the Caspian sea because these ships would be very useful in the Baltic sea and also in the Black sea. It is always a good thing to be prepared but why build so many ships to the Caspian sea when Russia could bring more ships from the black sea to the Caspian sea if needed.
Negotiations related to the demarcation of the Caspian Sea have been going on for nearly a decade among the states bordering the Caspian – Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. The status of the Caspian Sea[34] is the key problem. Access to mineral resources (oil and natural gas), access for fishing and access to international waters (through Russia’s Volga river and the canals connecting it to the Black Sea and Baltic Sea) all depend upon the outcomes of negotiations. Access to the Volga River is particularly important for the landlocked states of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. This concerns Russia, because this potential traffic would utilise its inland waterways. If a body of water is labeled as sea then there would be some precedents and international treaties obliging the granting of access permits to foreign vessels. If a body of water is labeled merely as lake then there are no such obligations. Environmental issues are also somewhat connected to the status and borders issue.
All five Caspian littoral states maintain naval forces on the sea.[35] It should be mentioned that Russia got the bulk of the former Soviet Caspian military fleet and has the most powerful military presence in the sea. Fewer assets were assigned to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
According to a treaty signed between Iran (Persia) and the Soviet Union, the Caspian Sea is technically a lake and was divided into two sectors (Persian and Soviet), but the resources (then mainly fish) were commonly shared. The line between the two sectors was considered an international border in a common lake, like Lake Albert. The Soviet sector was sub-divided into the four littoral republics’ administrative sectors.
Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have bilateral agreements with each other based on median lines. Because of their use by the three nations, median lines seem to be the most likely method of delineating territory in future agreements. However, Iran insists on a single, multilateral agreement between the five nations (as this is the only way for it to achieve a one-fifth share of the sea). Azerbaijan is at odds with Iran over some oil fields that both states claim. Occasionally, Iranian patrol boats have fired at vessels sent by Azerbaijan for exploration into the disputed region. There are similar tensions between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan (the latter claims that the former has pumped more oil than agreed from a field, recognized by both parties as shared).
The Caspian littoral states’ meeting in 2007 signed an agreement that bars any ship not flying the national flag of a littoral state from entering the sea.[36
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Sea#Territorial_status
The Caspian Sea borders between Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan are not yet determined, although this problem is set to be resolved peacefully in the coming years through slow negotiations. After the breakup of the USSR, the newly independent republics bordering the Caspian Sea claimed shares of territorial waters and the seabed, thus unilaterally abrogating the existing half-and-half USSR-Iran agreements which, like all other Soviet treaties, the republics had agreed to respect upon their independence. It has been suggested by these countries that the Caspian Sea should be divided in proportion to each bordering country’s shoreline, in which case Iran’s share would be reduced to about 13%. The Iranian side has expressed eagerness to know if this means that all Irano–Russian and –Soviet agreements are void, entitling Iran to claim territorial sovereignty over lands lost to Russia by treaties that the parties still consider vivant. Issues between Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan were settled in 2003, but Iran does not recognize these agreements, on the premise that the international law governing open water can not be applied to the Caspian Sea, which is in fact a lake (a landlocked body of water). Iran has not pressed its Caspian territorial claims in recent years because it relies heavily on Russia’s support in its nuclear-development battle with the West.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Iran#Current_territorial_disputes
The main focus of the Iranian Navy seems to be developing new frigates, corvettes and medium to large fast boats capable of carrying modern precision anti-ship missiles.[citation needed] Three of five frigates (Vosper Mark 5), however, were commissioned over 25 years ago and these ships have been updated with Chinese C-802 missiles.[citation needed] Iran’s three corvettes were commissioned over 30 years ago; one (the Hamzeh) was originally a government yacht but has now been equipped with Chinese C-802 missiles as well, but it is deployed at Anzali on the Caspian Sea.[citation needed
On September 29, 2003 Iran’s domestically produced Sina class (reverse engineered Kaman class) missile boat Paykan, equipped with modern anti-ship missiles and modern electronics entered service in the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy. The ship was launched in the Caspian sea to protect Iran’s interests there and was mentioned among the achievements of the Iranian Navy by Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari.
In 2002 Iran announced it would start the production of its first domestically produced destroyer. By most international standards the ship, the first of the Moudge class, would be considered a light frigate or a corvette.[11] On November 24, 2007 Iran’s rear admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced that Iran would launch its first domestically produced destroyer, Jamaran and an Iranian Ghadir class submarine. It is said to be a sonar evading stealth submarine. Moje (aka Jamaran), later known as Moje I which appears to be a development of the Alvand (Saam) Class. Jamaran guided missile frigate entered service in 2010. Another frigate in the same class, named Damavand, has been commissioned in the port of Bandar Anzali in the Caspian sea (2013). This ship just like the Jamaran has the capability to: carry helicopters, anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles, torpedoes, modern guns and air defence guns. The ship is also equipped with electronic warfare devices. The two mentioned frigates have brought Iran’s frigate arsenal from 3 to 5, while two others are being built, to be added to Iran’s fleet of warships in the Persian Gulf.
Bandar-e Anzali (formerly known as Bandar-e Pahlavi) was the major training base and home of the small Caspian Sea fleet, which consisted of a few patrol boats and a minesweeper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandar-e_Anzali
In short, Iran has increased its caspian fleet with a 1400 ton corvette, 250 ton missile boats, mini-subs.
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