Russian ships with military cargo passed through the Bosphorus Strait in violation of the Montreux Convention

Russian ships passed through the Bosphorus Strait, most likely transporting military cargo from Syria to the Russian Federation.

The vessels “Baltic Leader” and “Lady Mariia” are part of the so-called “Syrian Express”, the monitoring group “Crimean Wind” reports.

After a day of downtime in front of the Bosphorus, the ships left for Novorossiysk. Sometimes at the exit from the strait, a convoy of warships of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia awaits them – this indicates the destination and value of the cargo.

By using merchant ships, Russia circumvents the ban on the movement of warships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, introduced by Turkey since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, in accordance with the Montreux Convention.

Most of the vessels used belong to the company “Oboronlogistics” controlled by the Ministry of Defense of Russia, which has come under US sanctions.

According to MarineTraffic data, the Baltic Leader roller under the flag of the Russian Federation is currently already in the Black Sea. Of course, the ship indicated only the date of departure from the port of Novorossiysk – February 8.

But the ro-ro “Lady Mariia” has not “cleaned up” its history – the ship does not hide the fact that on February 19 it left for Novorossiysk from the port of Tartus in Syria.

It is worth adding that exactly two years ago, on the night of February 26, 2022, France intercepted the Russian ship “Baltic Leader” in the English Channel, in accordance with EU sanctions against Moscow.

The cargo ship was carrying cars and left Rouen for St. Petersburg. However, French maritime police diverted the vessel to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France.

The vessel was suspected of “belonging to a Russian company that is currently on the EU sanctions list.”

Read also: Can Russia be brought to justice for war crimes at sea?