SPARTA II

The vessel has been implicated in the transportation of weapons, including from Syria to russia through the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits. In particular, after the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in April 2022, the vessel was recorded by a ship spotter in the Bosporus with military equipment on board; in August 2022, it carried out the transfer of weapons, including S-300 air defense systems, from Syria to the russian port of Novorossiysk, likely for use in the war against Ukraine.
The vessel has also been implicated in transporting part of the military equipment from the russian naval base in Tartus (Syria) to Libya after the fall of the Assad regime. On December 13, 2024, the vessel departed from the russian naval base in Baltiysk, and on January 06, 2025, it was recorded in the Mediterranean Sea within the Tunisian EEZ. The vessel was scheduled to call at the port of Tartus on January 08, 2025.
It is a multifunctional vessel with both horizontal and vertical loading and unloading capabilities, designed for the carriage of rolling equipment, trailers, and semi-trailers, as well as cargo in containers and general cargo. The vessel has two lower holds with a total cargo deck length of 70.7 m and width of 15.6 m, a tween deck 109.3 m long and 15.2 m wide, and one open upper deck 96.2 m long and 15.6 m wide. Its cargo spaces can carry loaded containers up to 213 TEU or empty containers up to 783 TEU, with capacity for connecting 40 refrigerated containers. In addition, it can carry up to 20 standard road trains up to 17 meters long.
Since November 2022, the vessel has been involved in the transportation of containers, rolling equipment, and general cargo on the Ust-Luga – Baltiysk – Kaliningrad container line. On July 05, 2024, it resumed operations on the line under the management of Oboronlogistika LLC (ООО "Оборонлогистика"), a sanctioned russian shipping company that operates as part of the military construction complex of the russian Ministry of Defence. The main tasks 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, being the sole provider of transport services for the Ministry of Defence of russia, including the transportation of troops to certain regions of russia and the delivery of cargo to the temporarily occupied Crimea, Ukraine.
In May 2022, the United States imposed sanctions on three vessels, including the Sparta II, affiliated with the sanctioned Oboronlogistika LLC.