It is involved in the regular transportation of military cargo and military personnel from Novorossiysk (russia) to Tartus (Syria), and back, and allegedly from Tartus to the ports of the TOT Crimea (Ukraine). Also the vessel is involved in the transportation of ilmenite for the russian-seized "Crimean Titan" to the TOT of Crimea, and operates on the Novorossiysk (russia) - Tartus (Syria) line. Since the end of 2023, the vessel has been transferred from the Novorossiysk-Tartus line to the St. Petersburg-Kaliningrad container ferry. On 28.07.2023, the Federal Transport Supervision Service of the russian federation issued a licence allowing the vessel to transport all types of dangerous goods, including radioactive cargo (hazard class 7). The vessel has appropriate additional equipment and some crew members have undergone specialised training. The design of the dry cargo vessel is fully suitable for transporting cargoes of all hazard classes, including radioactive ones. The vessel has a deck for containers and general cargo, two holds, one of which is equipped for the transport of nuclear fuel waste. In May 2022, USA imposed sanctions on the "Pizhma", which was owned by the then-sanctioned russian shipping company SK-Yug LLC, a subsidiary of the then-sanctioned russian company Oboronlogistika LLC. Oboronlogistika LLC is a shipping company that operates as part of the military construction complex of the russian ministry of defence. The main objectives of Oboronlogistika LLC are to meet the needs of the russian ministry of defence in the transportation, storage and production of military and special-purpose goods. Oboronlogistika LLC is the sole provider of transport services for the russian ministry of defence, transporting troops to certain regions of russia and delivering cargo to temporarily occupied Crimea (Ukraine). Since July 2023, the vessel has been owned by the russian shipping company Obl-shipping LLC, which is part of Oboronlogistika Group.

It is involved in the transportation of military cargo and military personnel from Novorossiysk (russia) to Tartus (Syria), and back, and allegedly from Tartus to the ports of the TOT Crimea (Ukraine). The vessel is involved in the russian so-called rescue group, accompanied by the russian large amphibious assault ships 'ivan gren' and 'aleksandr otrakovsky', to transport some military equipment from the russian naval base in tartus (Syria) to Libya after the fall of the Assad regime. On the territory of the base in Tartus, there are, in particular, mercenaries of the “African Corps” controlled by the russian ministry of defense. Chief of Staff of the 121st Brigade of Landing Ships of the russian aggressor fleet, captain 1st rank yuri albertovich davitian is on board the otrakovsky. On December 11, 2024, Sparta left the russian naval base in Baltiysk, and on January 05, 2025, it was spotted in the Mediterranean Sea in the Syrian EEZ. On January 05, 2025, the vessel was supposed to arrive at a Syrian port, but as of the morning of January 07, 2025, it sails off the coast of Syria, probably waiting for permission to enter the port of Tartus from the new Syrian authorities. The vessel is involved in the Ust-Luga-Baltic container ferry (transportation of containers, rolling equipment, general cargo). It belongs to the sanctioned russian shipping company SK-Yug LLC, a subsidiary of the sanctioned russian company Oboronlogistika LLC. Oboronlogistika LLC. Oboronlogistika LLC is a shipping company that operates as part of the military construction complex of the russian ministry of defence. The main objectives of Oboronlogistika LLC are to meet the needs of the russian ministry of defence in the transportation, storage and production of military and special-purpose goods. Oboronlogistika LLC is the sole provider of transport services for the ministry of defence of russia, transporting troops to certain regions of russia and delivering goods to the temporarily occupied Crimea (Ukraine). In May 2022, USA imposed sanctions on Sparta as a property of SK-Yug LLC.

It is involved in the transportation of military equipment for the russian troops in Syria The vessel belongs to the sanctioned russian shipping company SK-South LLC, a subsidiary of the sanctioned russian company Oboronlogistika LLC. OOO Oboronlogistika. Oboronlogistika LLC is a shipping company that operates within the military construction complex of the russian ministry of defence. The main objectives of Oboronlogistika LLC are to meet the needs of the russian ministry of defence in the transportation, storage and production of military and special-purpose goods. Oboronlogistika LLC is the sole provider of transport services for the russian ministry of defence, transporting troops to certain regions of russia and delivering cargo to temporarily occupied Crimea (Ukraine). In May 2022, USA imposed sanctions on "Ursa Major" as a property of SK-South LLC. After a long period of work in the Caspian Sea to provide transportations between the ports of russia and Iran, in September 2023 completed the passage to the Azov-Black Sea basin, where it was without AIS signal. The vessel made calls at the port of Taurus (Syria) using an AIS disconnection scheme to conceal destinations. While making voyages to Syria, passed the Bosphorus Strait without waiting. In accordance with established practice, vessels wait for their turn to pass for a certain period of time. This is only possible with prior agreement with representatives of the Turkish maritime administration The russian federation continues to use cargo vessels to move cargo, including military cargo, through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. During 2022-2023, these straits were crossed by russian cargo vessels affiliated with Oboronlogistika LLC, namely: "Sparta IV", "Ursa Major", "Sparta II". These vessels were travelling along the routes Novorossiysk Port (russia) - Bosphorus - Dardanelles - Tartus Port (Syria). Since March 2024, the vessel has been sailing between the ports of Baltiysk - Kronstadt - St Petersburg. On December 24, 2024, the vessel Ursa Major sank in international waters between Spain and Algeria after an explosion in the engine room, 14 crew members were rescued, two went missing. According to ship tracking data, the Ursa Major left the port of St. Petersburg on December 11, 2024, and was scheduled to arrive in Vladivostok on January 22, 2025. According to the captain, at the time of the accident, the ship was carrying empty containers, while a few days before the sinking, the press service of the russian “Oboronlogistika” announced that the Ursa Major was being sent to the Far East with “a large project cargo as part of the implementation of state tasks for the development of port infrastructure and the Northern Sea Route”, the ship was loaded with port cranes weighing 380 tons each, necessary for the expansion of the terminal in Vladivostok, and 45-ton hatch covers for new icebreakers.

The vessel belongs to the sanctioned russian shipping company SK-Yug LLC, a subsidiary of the sanctioned russian company Oboronlogistika LLC. Oboronlogistika LLC. Oboronlogistika LLC is a shipping company that operates within the military construction complex of the russian ministry of defence. The main objectives of Oboronlogistika LLC are to meet the needs of the russian ministry of defence in the transportation, storage and production of military and special-purpose goods. Oboronlogistika LLC is the sole provider of transport services for the russian ministry of defence, transporting troops to certain regions of russia and delivering cargo to temporarily occupied Crimea (Ukraine). In May 2022, the U.S. imposed sanctions on vessel as a property of SK-Yug LLC. Engaged by russia for important maritime logistics operations since 2018. The design, certification and capabilities of the Sparta IV make it an excellent transit vessel for large military equipment. Its volumetric payload capacity, two cranes capable of lifting up to 55 tonnes and overall displacement mean the vessel can easily transport heavy military cargo such as the T-90 tanks deployed in Syria. In 2023, the vessel made at least 6 voyages between the military ports of Tartus, Syria and Novorossiysk, russia: 14-25 January, 01-06 March, 8-15 April, 16-25 May, 25 June-15 July (reportedly unloading military equipment at the port of Novorossiysk), and 10 August. On each of these voyages, the Sparta IV only called at terminals of the russian naval base. Among the cargoes carried could be missiles for the S-300 SAM system, which is regularly used to shell Kharkiv and frontline Ukrainian cities. Thus "Sparta IV", heading from Syria to the port of Novorossiysk with heavy cargo, on the night of Sunday 05.03.2023 passed the Bosphorus Strait with probably the mentioned missiles on board. The vessel was loaded at the russian naval base in Tartus, Syria. Military vehicles were involved in the loading and the vessel's large holds were opened at the time. When the Sparta IV passed the Bosphorus, it had a draft of 6.2 metres (20 feet), which implies a heavy load. In addition, the Sparta IV had already delivered military cargoes in August 2022. At that time, russian missiles for the S-300 SAM system were unloaded from the vessel in Novorossiysk. The russian federation continues to use cargo vessels to move cargo, including military cargo, through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. During 2022-2023, these straits were crossed by russian cargo vessels affiliated with Oboronlogistika LLC, namely: "Sparta IV", "Ursa Major", "Sparta II". The said vessels were operating on the routes Novorossiysk Port (russia) - Bosphorus - Dardanelles - Tartus Port (Syria). On 15.07.2023 the vessel "Sparta IV" in the port of Novorossiysk was involved in loading artillery systems (probably M-46, D-30 or 2B16 "Nona"), which were delivered by the vessel to the Syrian port of Tartus on 07.08.2023. After that the vessel returned to the port of Novorossiysk, and already on 30.08.2023 made a call to the port of Sevastopol (TOT Crimea), where it made a call on 30.08.2023 in an empty state for scheduled repairs. In 2024, the vessel continued to operate on the Novorossiysk (russia) - Tartus (Syria) line. In particular, in February 2024, the vessel sailed from Novorossiysk to Tartus together with the tanker ‘Yaz’ (IMO 9735323), the rollers ‘Lady Maria’ (IMO 9220641) and ‘Baltic Leader’ (IMO 9220639), which were first used on the Novorossiysk-Tartus line. In June 2024, the vessel was deployed on the St Petersburg - Kaliningrad container line, where it made two colonies. At the end of June 2024, the vessel made a crossing of the North Sea. It is likely that the vessel will be engaged in the summer to deliver cargoes required for the construction of a new terminal and field development from the port of Arkhangelsk to the port of Bukhta Sever.