Russian ship carrying military supplies seen crossing Black Sea - report

A ship from Russia that was reportedly carrying military supplies and equipment was seen crossing the Black Sea in recent days, according to a Sunday report from Naval News.

The report describes the Russian ship, Sparta IV, "slipping quietly" into the sea with supplies before heading towards the Port of Novorossiysk, likely providing ammunition for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

The ship is only one of four owned by the Russian shipping company SC South LLC, which is involved in transporting military supplies. The US government sanctioned the company and its ship "under the Specially Designated Nationals list (SDN) following the invasion of Ukraine," the report said.

Crossing through the Bosporus Strait

Defense analysts had tracked the ship's voyage and stated it was crossing through the Bosporus Strait, which is considered to be Turkish sovereign waters. 

.@USTreasury sanctioned (RUSSIA-EO14024) SC South LLC owned Russian flag cargo vessel Sparta IV, itself sanctioned for ties to South LLC, transited Bosphorus toward Mediterranean en route from Novorossiysk to Tartus #Syria, carrying both military cargo and earthquake relief pic.twitter.com/cAjrVcAYXB

— Yörük Işık (@YorukIsik) February 21, 2023

The Bosporus Strait is also closed to warships because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the report added. Therefore, Russia moved the military equipment to merchant vessels.

A photo of the ship was taken and published by defense expert Yörük Işık.

Ukrainian media also reported on Sunday that the ship could be transporting ammunition from Syria, as the ship was previously in Tartus to deliver humanitarian aid following the earthquake in Syria and Turkey that killed around 50,000 people.