Russian ships off Tartus face technical failures & denied port access: Anchored off the Syrian coast are Sparta cargo ship, Ivan Gren and Alexander Otrakovsky large landing ships. AO suffered from malfunctions in its water desalination system & its second and third fuel tanks are reportedly leaking

https://en.defence-ua.com/news/russian_ships_off_tartus_face_technical_failures_and_denied_port_access-13171.html

by Alien_P3rsp3ktiv

6 comments

  1. Highlights:

    *russia’s military presence in Syria continues to face operational setbacks. The aggressor state has been transferring weapons and military equipment from Syria to Libya using its air force, likely due to the ongoing difficulties in evacuating assets by the sea.*

    *One glaring issue is the inability of russian ships to access the port of Tartus. On January 9, 2025, Counter Admiral Valery Vladimirovich Varfolomeyev attempted to negotiate entry into the port but was again denied. This refusal underscores the increasing isolation of russian forces in the region.*

    *Anchored off the coast of Tartus are the Sparta cargo ship, Ivan Gren and Alexander Otrakovsky large landing ships. These vessels, crucial for logistical support, are plagued by technical failures. The Alexander Otrakovsky ship has suffered from malfunctions in its water desalination system, and its second and third fuel tanks are reportedly leaking.*

    *Adding to the logistical strain, russian soldiers have been ordered to burn non-operational military vehicles that require repairs, further highlighting their desperation to avoid leaving usable equipment behind.*

  2. Sub brief on youtube has another great video about these ships.

  3. Russia is going to really need to crawl in order to be allowed to port, but I think Syria knows what will happen if they do port.

    And they do have other things to do right now that are far more important than pandering to Russia.

  4. I was wondering about the landing ship …
    The photo in the article shows IMHO the Sparta IV cargo ship IMO 9743033.
    Owner is a company belonging to the Russian war ministry.
    This ship has brought S-300 air defense systems from Syria back to Russia
    (via the Bosporus) in August 2022.

    The vessel near Tartus should be the Sparta (without a number, a hair bigger) IMO 9268710:
    https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:365758/mmsi:273389870/imo:9268710/vessel:SPARTA
    Yes it is:
    https://www.vesseltracker.com/en/Ships/Sparta-9268710.html
    and it is already known to UK and France:
    “… Russian ship suffered engine trouble
    Wed Dec 25 00:58:23 CET 2024

    The ‘Sparta’ got into difficulty in Dec 17, 2024, in rough seas off Brittany in the north-west of France.
    The Russian ship initially did not respond to French communications until acknowledging it had a problem.
    “I’m in trouble. My engines are currently down, the tiller isn’t responding.
    We’re going to try to repair it in the coming minutes,” the ship radioed.
    After drifting for 61 minutes, the ‘Sparta’ said it was back on course.
    …”
    .
    The Ivan Gren is a landing ship of the Ivan Gren class:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Gren-class_landing_ship

    The incontinent Alexandr Otrakovsky is one of the Ropucha class:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ropucha-class_landing_ship
    Here people from Gdańsk (with the old drawings) could help ~~repair~~ Ukraine
    to find the sweet spots, just in case it is once in the Black Sea again.
    I mean the old drawings could have helped in the case of a ship that
    was built as “Slava” in Mykolayiv, Ukraine and ended as the Moskva submarine.

Comments are closed.