Russia withdraws military equipment from the Tark’s port in Syria, show images

Russia has strengthened its military withdrawal from Syria, removing vehicles and containers from its key denying port on the Mediterranean coast of the country, BBC analysis suggests.

Following the fall of the Assad regime in December, the checked staff showed columns of Russian vehicles moving north to the harbor. Subsequently, satellite images show that military hardware is stored there.

But the new images, published Wednesday by Planet Labs, have shown that much of the material has already disappeared after leaving ships related to Russian military.

It comes as Russian officials have held “outspoken discussions” with the new government in Damascus, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The new Syrian government has been reported to have canceled Russia’s leasing in the harbor – but the BBC government services will not confirm that a final decision has been made.

Tartous has been a key base for Russia in recent years, allowing it to recharge, deliver and repair ships in the Mediterranean. But earlier warships were up to the harbor have not appeared in satellite images after the collapse of the Assad mode – Which Moscow supported during the Syrian Civil War.

The Kremlin signaled his desire to maintain control of the base and in December he said he was talking to the new authorities about maintaining a presence there.

However, the evidence shows that Moscow has now decided to move valuable equipment away from the harbor. Satellite images also show that Russian hardware has been removed from a nearby Hmeimim air base for several weeks.

Two ships – Sparta and Sparta II – Doking in Tartous on January 21st and 22, showed sites for tracking ships. Both ships are owned by Oboronlogistika LLC, a shipping company that works as part of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Both ships are sanctioned by the United States and are connected by Ukraine by transporting Russian weapons. They are rolling/rolling vessels that can carry vehicles.

Sparta II left the port until Monday, according to data from the Marinetraffic tracking website. Satellite images also revealed that a large amount of military vehicles parked before near the ship are no longer there.

The ship’s on -board tracker was briefly briefly from Marinetfic on Tuesday morning, showing that he was traveling west across the Mediterranean near Cyprus. But no signal has been received since then, suggesting that the tracing may be switched off.

On Wednesday, satellite images showed another ship – identified by experts such as Sparta – had also left the harbor. The images also show a large amount of containers parked nearby were removed.

A signal from the Sparta on -board tracker has not been detected as it is moored in Tartous – assuming it may be off and off.

The International Marine Organization (IMO) requires all ships over 300 gross tons to broadcast their signal at any time, except in some limited circumstances.

Ships can choose to exclude their tracking signal for legitimate reasons – for example, in navigating high -risk piracy areas. But according to NATO, it may also assume that the ship is trying to “conceal illegal activities.”

Marine expert Frederick Van Lockey, a former Lieutenant and Analyzer of the Belgian Navy, said it was “highly confident” the ship that left the harbor is Sparta based on satellite images.

The BBC Cerify has previously watched Sparta and the area in which he has been toned is already empty.

It is not clear exactly where the ships are directed. Mr. Van Lokeen told the BBC to check that they could be on the way to Libya, where the Kremlin is already proud of a significant military presence supporting Tobruk-based commander Khalifa Haftar.

Last week, Ukrainian military intelligence told the BBC to check that Russian flights had transferred military officials and equipment from the other Syrian base in Russia – Hmeimim – at Airbases in Libya at least 10 times since mid -December.

However, D -H Van Lokeen suggested that ships could be bound to Russia, where he said he was “likely to be implemented on the front line against Ukraine”.

Dmitry Gorenburg, a security expert at the former Soviet Union at Harvard University, told the BBC that movements suggest that Russia’s presence in Tartous is ending.

“I do not know if additional ships will be needed to remove everything or not, but in my opinion it is largely insignificant,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time until Russia’s military presence is completed at the base. We’ll see what’s coming after that.”

Mark Edwards graphics.