Russian Military Ship Sparta Unable to Dock at Syria’s Tartus Port for Over Five Days

The Russian vessel Sparta, known for ties with the Russian Ministry of Defense and transporting military equipment has been unable to dock at the Syrian port of Tartus for over five days, according to data from MarineTraffic on January 10.

The delay jeopardizes Russia’s efforts to evacuate military equipment and arms from Syria.

Tartus is home to Russia’s sole overseas naval base, which has played a crucial role in supporting the Assad regime. Following the regime’s collapse, Russian forces moved a significant amount of equipment to the base.

The Sparta departed from Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad region on December 11 and reached the Syrian coast on January 5. However, the ship has been drifting offshore near Tartus without permission to dock.

The new Syrian government may have denied the ship port access. This leaves the Khmeimim airbase as the only viable evacuation route for Russian personnel and equipment, with Russian Ministry of Defense aircraft making regular flights to the base.

Earlier, reports emerged that Russia planned to transfer part of its military equipment from Syria to Libya using the cargo ships Sparta and Sparta II.