Coast Guard of Georgia - Former Georgian Navy Vessels

Former Georgian Navy Vessels

The Georgian Navy consisted of 19 ships and boats. Until 19 August 2008, when it was destroyed by Russian forces, the most powerful combat unit was the missile boat Dioskuria. The other surface combat vessel, the missile boat Tbilisi, was found on fire in the Georgian naval base of Poti. The Navy suffered extensive losses in the Russo-Georgian War.

At sea on 9 August 2008 one Georgian warship was reported to have been hit by gunfire and sunk by units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet off the Abkhazian coast when allegedly entered a Russia imposed "security zone" along with three other vessels.

Other units were set on fire or sunk by Russian forces at Poti naval pier on 13 August.

• The Dioskuria (დიოსკურია) was a French-built La Combattante II (1971), obtained in 2004 from Greece, formerly the PG Ypoploiarchos Batsis (P 17). Built to be equipped with the four MM38 Exocet missile system, two Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannons and two 533 mm (21 in) torpedo-launchers, she was the most powerful combat craft in the Georgian Navy. She too was severely damaged in the 2008 South Ossetia war and sunk in Poti.

• Tbilisi (თბილისი) was a Soviet project 206MR missile boat, obtained in 1999 from Ukraine. It was built to be equipped with two Termite missile launchers, a 76 mm AK-176 dual purpose gun and a six-barreled 30 mm AK-630M Gatling gun. The ship was discovered on fire in the Georgian naval base of Poti on August 13, 2008.

Even prior to the 2008 conflict Georgia had no missiles for the two vessels (Dioskura and Tbilisi) that had missile tubes.

As of the beginning of 2009, both the Tbilisi and Dioskuria remained submerged in the port of Poti. They are likely total losses.

Overall, it appears that Georgian naval losses during the 2008 war with Russia totalled the Tbilisi, Dioskuria, and Tskaltubo, which were sunk in Poti. Coast Guard losses totalled the cutter Giorgi Toreli, which was allegedly sunk in the battle off the coast of Abkhazia, as well as P 203. Georgia's Coast Guard and Navy also had a number of small, rigid-hulled inflatable boats which were hauled off by Russian forces as war trophies. These hulls had served Coast Guard law enforcement missions and the Georgian Special Forces.

The tremendous loss of assets was likely one of the reasons the Navy was disbanded, and merged, into the Georgian Coast Guard.