Some of the roughest waters in the world are in what sailors call the High North, especially the Barents Sea on the northwest Arctic coast of Russia. In a tightly confined bay, the base of Severomorsk is home to Russia’s most capable naval force, the Northern Fleet. This past week a flotilla including three American destroyers, a massive supply ship and a British frigate entered the Barents, the first such venture for U.S. surface ships since the end of the Cold War.
Seeking to avoid any surprises, the U.S. Navy informed the Russians of the deployment, although there isn’t any requirement to do so under international law. The area where the flotilla is operating is clearly high seas, through which any nation is free to transit. The U.S. Navy reported that it is conducting a variety of training events, including for anti-submarine warfare.
This is a difficult place to operate, even in relatively mild late spring. It is also famous to naval personnel from the days of the Murmansk convoys in World War II, when allied ships were bringing war materials to Russian partners in the fight against Hitler.