Russia resumes sea transport to Tartus after fall of Assad regime

The Russian ship Sparta arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus, escorted by warships. This is the first confirmation of the resumption of Russian sea supplies to Syria after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

This is reported by “Military”.

After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime on December 8, 2024, Russia has come a long way from the urgent evacuation of troops and equipment to negotiations with the new authorities on maintaining limited access to the bases in Tartus and Hmeimim.

Thus, the bases in Tartus and Hmeimim remain strategic objects for the Kremlin, which allow it to maintain a military and political presence in Africa and the Middle East.

In mid-May, the OSINT projects InsiderGeo and SONARROW_OSINT recorded the arrival of the Russian cargo ship Sparta in the Syrian port of Tartus, guarded by ships of the Russian Navy.

In satellite images, the frigate Admiral of the Fleet Kasatonov, which was escorting the ship, was noticed next to the transport. It is also reported that on the eve of the convoy’s arrival, the corvette “Stoyky” left the port of Tartus to ensure safe passage.

After passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, all ships in the convoy turned off their transponders. In addition, at least two ships transmitted fictitious coordinates, supposedly being in the Baltic Sea.

What exactly the Sparta ship was transporting is unknown. At the same time, OSINT analysts suggest that it was military cargo or dual-use equipment.

Recall that after the fall of the Bashar Assad regime in December 2024, Russia began evacuating equipment and military property from Tartus. In January 2025, satellite images recorded the loading of equipment onto the Sparta and Sparta II ships.

Earlier, USM reported that the Syrian port would receive another batch of stolen Ukrainian grain.