Naval News magazine, citing sources in Istanbul, writes that Turkey let a Russian ship with military cargo on board cross the Bosphorus. According to the publication, the freighter “Sparta IV” under cover of night passed through the Black Sea and headed for Novorossiysk. Presumably, military equipment is being transported on board the ship from the Syrian port of Tartous to the Russian Federation.
A Russian freighter has slipped unnoticed into the Black Sea with a supposed shipment of military supplies for a Russian special operation in Ukraine. The ship “Sparta IV” was loaded in Syria and sailed escorted by the Russian Navy. Although Turkey has closed the Mediterranean-Black Sea waterway to Russian warships, the flow of military supplies continues
– says the publication.
According to the magazine, Sparta IV is owned by the Russian company OOO SK Yug, which is subject to US sanctions. This ship is regularly used to deliver various cargoes to Syria for the Russian military contingent. On the last flight from Novorossiysk to Tartus, he delivered humanitarian aid to earthquake-hit Syria. On the way home, according to Naval News, Sparta IV took on military cargo.
The ship was loaded at the Russian naval base in Tartous. Military vehicles participated in the loading, and at this time the large holds of the ship were opened. When she crossed the Bosphorus, her declared draft was 6.2 meters, indicating a heavy load. Shipping containers are placed on deck, but what they contain or in the hold, of course, is not visible
writes Naval News.
Before entering the Bosphorus, the cargo ship was accompanied by a “Guarding” missile corvette of the Russian Navy’s project 20380. The naval escort indirectly confirms the secrecy of the transported cargo. The publication reports that Sparta IV regularly transports military cargo to Tartus, in particular, missiles for the S-300 air defense system stationed in Syria were transported on this ship in August last year.
