February 10th 2025.
In the next few days, a major event is set to take place in the English Channel. A convoy of Russian cargo ships and an oil tanker, flying the Russian flag, will be passing through the port of Dover on their way to Russia. This has raised some serious security concerns for the authorities.
The cargo on board these vessels consists of ammunition and weapons being repatriated from Syria back to Russia. This is due to the loss of their naval base in Tartus, a city on the Mediterranean coast, after the collapse of the Assad regime. As a strong supporter of the regime during the Syrian civil war, Russia is now in the process of withdrawing their military presence from the country. With lightning speed, they have been removing vehicles and containers, and now these three ships are making their way back to Russia.
The convoy is made up of two roll-on roll-off vessels, Sparta I and Sparta II, specifically designed for transporting wheeled cargo. Along with them are two large landing ships, Ivan Gren and Alexander Otrakovsky. And lastly, the General Skobelev, a Class A oil tanker that is part of the Kremlin's "ghost fleet," is also part of this operation. Currently, the convoy is sailing towards Spain after passing the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.
According to MarineTraffic, the vessels will be passing through the English Channel and the North Sea on their way to Saint Petersburg. Sparta I and General Skobelev are expected to arrive there between February 21 and 23. On the other hand, Sparta II will travel through the Russian naval port of Baltiysk and then continue on to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
It was recently reported by the Russian pro-war Telegram channel, Fighterbomber, that most of the military equipment and property have been transported by air, with ships only being used for larger or more expensive items. This is due to the lack of friendly ports on the way to Saint Petersburg, which means any repairs must be done at sea without any assistance. In fact, there have already been reports of technical issues with Sparta during its journey to Tartus and back.
Metro has reached out to the UK Ministry of Defence for a comment on the security concerns surrounding this convoy. As it makes its way through the English Channel, all eyes will be on this significant event, with many wondering about the implications of such a large movement of military equipment.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
