Russian military ship stranded off Syrian coast amid new tensions
As reported by the Ukrainian service Militarny, the Russian ship Sparta, which carries military equipment, has been unable to enter the Syrian port of Tartus for more than five days. The inability to access Russia's only foreign naval base in Tartus may hinder the evacuation of Russian soldiers and equipment from the country.
Militarny refers to data from open-source intelligence, along with information from the service MarineTraffic, which tracks the real-time location of ships. According to this information, the ship Sparta left the Russian port of Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad region on December 11th and arrived at the Syrian coast on January 5th. Since that day, it has not entered the port. The Ukrainian service suggests this may indicate that the ship has not received permission from the new Syrian authorities to enter Tartus.
Russian Problems in Syria
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the Russians transferred a significant portion of their military equipment and soldiers in Syria to the naval base in the port city of Tartus. It is important to note that this base is Russia's only repair and resupply center in the Mediterranean Sea.
The facility was also a key logistical point for Russian military operations in Africa. However, it is not Russia's only base in Syria; the Khmeimim airbase in the Latakia province also operates in the country and can be used to evacuate equipment and personnel if the ship Sparta cannot reach the port.
The Russian cargo ship Sparta belongs to the company Oboronlogistika, which specializes in transporting military equipment for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. This ship, with a cargo capacity of 9,513 tons and a length of 394 feet, is designed for transporting containers and oversized loads. Sparta is part of the fleet used by Russia to maintain its military operations in the Middle East, providing essential logistical support to contingents stationed in the region.
In December 2024, Sparta participated in an operation to evacuate Russian military equipment from Syria. During the voyage, an engine failure off the coast of Portugal forced the crew to attempt repairs in open water. It is noteworthy that Sparta and other Oboronlogistika units have been sanctioned by the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Ukraine due to their involvement in Russia's military activities in 2014 and 2022.
