701st Logistics Center
Identification and Mission
The 701st Logistics Center (701st Center of Material-Technical Support), identified in Russian sources as military unit 77360, is a Russian Navy support formation associated with the Northern Fleet area. Its core mission is the receipt, storage, maintenance, and distribution of naval materiel—including ammunition, fuels and lubricants, technical stores, and general supplies—to fleet units and shore installations across the Kola Peninsula and the adjacent Arctic littoral.
Command and Organizational Context
The center is part of the Russian Navy’s material-technical support (MTO) system serving the Northern Fleet. In this role it integrates depot-level storage, transshipment, and base support functions for submarine and surface forces. While administrative reforms have adjusted higher-level command boundaries in recent years, the 701st Logistics Center’s function remains to provide fleet-level logistics within the Northern Fleet’s operating area.
Headquarters and Administrative Details
The headquarters is publicly associated with Severomorsk, Murmansk Oblast, under the designation military unit 77360. Severomorsk is a closed administrative-territorial formation (ZATO) and the principal base of the Northern Fleet on Kola Bay. The Ministry of Defence does not publish detailed street addresses, internal communications data, or facility plans for this unit; such specifics are not available in open sources.
Subunit Structure and Known Specializations (per provided listing)
The provided designators indicate numerous detachments under the parent number 77360, using numeric and letter suffixes typical of Russian practice for separate depots and bases. The list includes 77360-2 (submarine munitions; torpedo and missile depot), 77360-5, 77360-16, 77360-22, 77360-25, and 77360-F (fuel depots), 77360-N (noted as Severomorsk Naval Munitions Storage), and additional detachments 77360-3, -4, -6, -12, -15, -21, -26, -29, -32, -I, and -U where functions are not specified in the public domain. Open-source confirmation of detailed roles and locations for each suffix detachment is limited; where functions are indicated in the list, they are noted but are not independently confirmed in official publications.
Ammunition Storage and Handling
Naval munitions support in the Severomorsk area includes shore-based arsenals and waterside transshipment infrastructure used to load torpedoes and missiles to submarines and surface combatants. Open sources consistently reference the Okolnaya complex at Severomorsk as a key Northern Fleet munitions transshipment site. Conventional munitions handled in the region include heavyweight torpedoes and naval missiles (such as types in the P-700, P-800, and 3M-14/3M-54 families) for ships and submarines. Any custody or handling of nuclear munitions in the Northern Fleet area is the responsibility of the 12th Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defence (12th GUMO); specific arrangements, procedures, and inventories are classified and not publicly released.
Fuel Storage and Distribution
Fuel depots identified in the provided listing (77360-5, -16, -22, -25, and -F) indicate a distributed network of tank farms and handling points supporting naval vessels, auxiliaries, and local garrisons. Typical infrastructure at such Russian naval depots comprises bermed vertical storage tanks, pump houses, truck loading racks, firefighting and spill-containment systems, and guarded perimeters. Deliveries are effected by road tanker, naval auxiliary oilers, and—where available—pipeline links. Precise capacities, tank counts, and routing for these depots are not disclosed publicly.
Supported Bases and Operational Context
By mission and geography, the 701st Logistics Center supports Northern Fleet operating hubs along Kola Bay and the Barents Sea coast, including Severomorsk (main base), Polyarny (Kola Inlet), Gadzhievo (Sayda Guba; SSBN base), Vidyayevo (Ura Guba; SSN/SSGN base), Zaozersk/Zapadnaya Litsa, and Olenya Guba (special-mission submarine facilities). The Northern Fleet’s order of battle in this area includes ballistic-missile submarines (Projects 667BDRM and 955/955A), cruise-missile and attack submarines (Projects 949A and 971), and multiple surface combatants and auxiliaries, all of which require steady munitions and fuel support.
Transportation Links and Access
Logistics flows to Severomorsk and surrounding depots use the regional road network from Murmansk (E105/M18 Kola highway), sea movement within Kola Bay, guarded road convoys, and rail-to-port transfer at Murmansk with onward shipment by barge or auxiliary vessels. The Okolnaya area provides waterside handling for ammunition; fuels are moved by road tanker, naval oiler, and pipelines where installed. Movement schedules, detailed routes, and convoy timings are not published for security reasons.
Safety, Security, and Historical Incidents
Russian naval ammunition and fuel depots are guarded military sites with access control and explosive safety standoffs. A notable historical event in this area is the May 1984 explosions at a Northern Fleet missile ammunition depot near Severomorsk, widely reported to have caused extensive damage and casualties. Following such incidents, official communications have emphasized fire safety and compliance at arsenals; detailed site-specific security protocols for the 701st Logistics Center are classified and not available in open sources.
Open-source Corroboration Status
Key elements are supported by public reporting and directories: identification as the 701st Logistics Center, association with military unit 77360, location at Severomorsk, the existence of naval munitions storage and fuel depots in the area, and the Okolnaya transshipment function. However, precise subunit roles, coordinates, capacities, and inventories for the suffix detachments listed (e.g., 77360-2, -5, -16, -22, -25, -F, -N, etc.) are not comprehensively documented in the public domain. Designations provided in the list are noted as such; absent official confirmation, they should be treated as unverified.
Restricted/Unreleased Details
Not publicly available or classified information includes exact geographic coordinates of each depot and magazine, the number and layout of storage bunkers, munitions and fuel stock levels, types and quantities held at each site, nuclear warhead storage and transport procedures, security system configurations, and the timing and routing of munitions and fuel convoys. These details are not disclosed by the Russian Ministry of Defence and cannot be provided.
Indicators for Lawful Independent Verification
Non-intrusive indicators consistent with ammunition depots include earth-covered magazines, lightning protection arrays, blast berms, and restricted waterfronts with ammunition lighters. Fuel depots are indicated by fenced tank farms with foam-deluge systems, spill-containment basins, and truck loading racks. Procurement records or public tenders that mention military unit 77360 in connection with explosive safety services, fuel supply, or depot maintenance can corroborate functions. Notices to mariners in Kola Bay restricting dangerous cargo handling also support identification of transshipment sites. Any observation should rely solely on lawful, publicly released sources.
Summary Assessment
Military unit 77360, known as the 701st Logistics Center, functions as the Northern Fleet’s fleet-level logistics hub in the Severomorsk area, operating a distributed network of ammunition and fuel facilities to support submarines, surface ships, and shore establishments. The provided list of detachments—with specified roles for several munitions and fuel depots—is consistent with Russian naval logistics practice, but granular details for each subunit are not publicly released. The existence of naval munitions storage and fuel infrastructure around Severomorsk, including the Okolnaya transshipment complex, is well attested in open sources; specific capacities, inventories, and internal procedures remain classified.