On March 17, the UK Navy recorded the movement of a group of Russian military and cargo ships through the English Channel, 48 km from the southern coast of the United Kingdom. As of March 24, the convoy had already arrived at the port of Baltiysk (Russia).
The convoy included the cargo ships Maia-1 (under Western sanctions for transporting artillery shells from North Korea to Russia), Sparta IV, and Siyanie Severa (suspected of transporting weapons from Syria), as well as the Russian destroyer Severomorsk and the Navy landing ship Alexander Shabalin.
On the night of March 16, the Severomorsk destroyer, under the watch of the Belgian patrol vessel Castor (a routine NATO practice for monitoring potential violations of maritime regulations), crossed the North Sea and entered the English Channel. In the Atlantic, Severomorsk met with the convoy consisting of Sparta IV, Siyanie Severa, and Alexander Shabalin, which had departed from the Syrian port of Tartus on March 2.
Russia's transportation of weapons, military equipment, and sanctioned goods near the UK, escorted by warships, is generally a provocative move. At the same time, the removal of military equipment from Syria to Russia indicates an intent to use it in the war against Ukraine and suggests a lack of agreement with Syria’s new government on maintaining Russia’s presence at the Tartus naval base.
