Overview

• Synthetic Aperture Radar images taken Thursday morning reveal a section of Rybachiy base’s pier bent away from its moorings after the 8.8-magnitude quake triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami.
• Imagery indicates no submarine was docked at the damaged jetty when the waves struck, and two Yasen-class vessels remain moored at adjacent piers.
• Military analysts are studying post-quake imagery to identify which submarines were in Avacha Bay at the time and assess any unseen structural or systems damage.
• Rybachiy base hosts Russia’s Borei-class and Delta-class ballistic missile submarines integral to the Pacific Fleet’s nuclear deterrent.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov credited resilient construction and timely alerts for preventing casualties, though experts caution that successive seismic shocks could strain the base’s engineered safeguards.