Since Turkey closed the Bosphorus Strait to warships due to the war in Ukraine, Russia has begun using support and merchant vessels to transport military cargo through the straits.
Naval News writes about this, referring to the data of members of the Bosphorus Observer group and defense expert Yoruk Ishik.
According to observers, the Russian container ship Sparta IV brought a cargo of humanitarian aid for earthquake victims to Syria, and then took a military cargo from the Russian naval base, which is to be unloaded in Novorossiysk.
The ship was passing through the Bosphorus accompanied by ships of the Russian Navy and passed the strait in the dark. And before entering the Bosphorus on March 1, 2023, Sparta IV was accompanied by the Steregushchiy missile corvette of the Russian Navy.
This is not the first time that Russian container ships transport military cargo. According to experts, in August 2022, Russian S-300 air defense missiles were also loaded at Tartus in Syria and were delivered to Novorossiysk.