A Russian cargo ship, SPARTA IV, is being monitored by the Portuguese Navy as it slowly navigates the Portuguese coast from south to north.
SPARTA IV entered Portuguese territorial waters on Sunday night – and today it is still only ‘half way’ up the coast.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the number of ships passing through Portuguese territorial waters has escalated: several missions appearing less than straightforward.
This one – like many dozen of others – will be monitored by Portuguese authorities until the ship is out of national jurisdiction.
According to the ship’s declared ‘journey’, the SPARTA IV left the port of Baltiysk, in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad (sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic Coast) at the end of December, and is scheduled to arrive in the Russian port of Kaliningrad (also on the Baltic Coast) on February 27.
Last night, the ship’s reported position was in deep water off the coast of Nazaré.
National news outlets give little more than this information. Over social media however, Sea News gives a great deal more, suggesting that SPARTA IV is part of Russia’s so-called ‘Shadow Fleet’.
What has it been doing since December? SEANEWS gave this update during the second week of February:
RUSSIA’S “SHADOW FLEET” GOES DARK OFF SARDINIA
The situation in the Tyrrhenian Sea has just taken a suspicious turn. The Russian cargo vessel Sparta IV —widely known as the Kremlin’s “death courier” for its history of transporting military hardware—has disabled its AIS transponder approximately 6 hours ago.
After days of “pendulum-like” movements east of Sardinia, the vessel is now officially a “Dark Ship.”
Here is what we know so far:
Tactical Blackout: By switching off its AIS, the Sparta IV is now invisible to civilian tracking. This move often precedes sensitive operations like Ship-to-Ship (STS) transfers or covert maneuvers to avoid public OSINT monitoring.
The Escort: The cargo isn’t alone. It is accompanied by the destroyer Severomorsk and the tanker Kama. Rumors of a Kilo-class submarine (Krasnodar) operating submerged in the same convoy are heightening the stakes.
Italy’s Massive Response: The Italian Navy has stepped up. The FREMM frigate Spartaco Schergat (F598) is now reportedly joined by a second unit, the Emilio Bianchi. Deploying two of Italy’s most advanced frigates for a single cargo ship is far from routine.
The Nuclear Factor: Interest remains high following the recent presence of the US Air Force WC-135R “Constant Phoenix” (the ‘nuclear sniffer’) in the area. Why monitor a cargo ship for radioactive traces?
Whether it’s a strategic provocation, a covert delivery, or a shield against the incoming 10-meter waves in the Atlantic, the Sparta IV is currently the most watched ship in the Mediterranean.
While it may be “dark” for us, you can bet the Italian Navy’s radars are locked on.
Since then Sea News reports that the Portuguese Air Force has also been monitoring SPARTA IV as it ‘races north’ up our coastline in a bid to escape bad weather forecast for the Bay of Biscay.
The fact that the ship is still ‘half way down the Portuguese coast’ (reportedly) suggests it may be waiting for the bad weather (forecast for yesterday) to pass.
Source material: SIC / Euronews/ Facebook ‘Seanews’
