Two Russian convoys in the Mediterranean: one group unloading in Tartus, the second moving under Italian surveillance

Several groups of Russian vessels carrying military cargo are simultaneously present in the Mediterranean, two of which are headed for the Syrian port of Tartus. According to the maritime portal The Maritime Executive, cited by RBC-Ukraine, one of the groups has already arrived at the port, while the second continues to move across the waters under observation by Italian military aircraft. Such synchronized activity, experts assess, indicates that Moscow is deliberately maintaining several maritime logistics groupings in the region and using them to transport military cargo.

Composition of the first group and Royal Navy escort

The first group, according to the portal, consists of the anti-submarine ship "Admiral Levchenko," the tanker "General Skobelev," the roll-on/roll-off vessel "Sparta," and the tanker "Akademik Pashin." The vessels passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and headed east. While transiting the English Channel, the Russian group was escorted by several Royal Navy ships of the United Kingdom — including the destroyer HMS Duncan, the frigate HMS St Albans, and the patrol vessel HMS Severn — underscoring the heightened attention paid by Western naval forces to the route.

Arrival in Tartus and unloading

According to the publication, the Russian group reached Tartus, where the roll-on/roll-off vessel "Sparta" was spotted unloading in the port. Satellite imagery additionally showed that a Russian warship is moored at the Tartus pier, presumably docked alongside the tanker "General Skobelev" — either for sea-side protection or for refueling. Thus, the first group has effectively fulfilled its mission of delivering and beginning the unloading of cargo at a key point of Russian naval logistics in the region.

Second convoy: "Alexander Shabalin" and disabled AIS

The second Russian convoy, according to the same data, is also heading to Tartus. It is led by the large landing ship "Alexander Shabalin" of the "Ropukha" class, accompanied by the cargo vessels "Anastasia" and "Yuri Arshenevsky," which have a sanctions status and, according to the portal, were previously used to transport military cargo. On September 10, the convoy was spotted between Sicily and Tunisia, and the day before the vessels had passed along the Algerian coast; they were observed from an Italian military ATR P-72A aircraft. Notably, all three vessels had disabled their automatic identification system (AIS), and as the convoy continues eastward it must pass the area between Crete and Libya, where drone attacks have previously been recorded.

Strategic context: reorganization of the presence in Syria

This activity is taking place against the backdrop of a memorandum signed by Syria and Russia on the reorganization of the Russian military presence in the country: Damascus is taking over the management of facilities intended for civilian use, including Hmeimim Airport and the fourth commercial berth in the port of Tartus. Earlier, on May 11 — after the fall of the Assad regime — the Russian cargo vessel "Sparta" arrived in Syria escorted by warships, marking the first confirmation of Moscow resuming military deliveries to the country. Taken together, these factors allow the current convoys to be viewed as a continuation of an established maritime logistics channel amid a changed political landscape in the region.