Ukraine struck the Russian military cargo ship Lady Mariia (IMO 9220641) with multiple drones last Sunday, 6 September, after the vessel had passed east of Malta through the central Mediterranean.
The Russian-flagged Ro-Ro vessel had departed Oran, Algeria, on 1 September and was tracked around 50 nautical miles east of Malta before continuing eastwards. The attack itself took place farther east, in the waters between Crete and Libya, where several drones dropped munitions on the ship’s deck, damaging its cargo-handling equipment and starting a fire. More than ten munitions were reported to have struck the vessel.
Lady Mariia was initially reported disabled following the attack, but subsequently reached the Port Said anchorage in Egypt, where it was tracked from 8 September onwards. The vessel is under international sanctions and has previously been identified as part of Russia’s military logistics network, transporting military equipment between Russia and its overseas bases and clients.
The attack comes as Russia has re-established a significant naval and military-logistics presence in the Mediterranean. Ukrainian outlet UNITED24 Media reported that two Russian military-linked flotillas are currently operating in the Mediterranean escorting sanctioned cargo vessels.
The first group entered the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar on 27 August and is led by the Udaloy-class destroyer Admiral Levchenko. It also includes the sanctioned Ro-Ro cargo vessel Sparta, the tanker General Skobelev and the fleet oiler Akademik Pashin. The flotilla was monitored by British naval forces during its passage south and subsequently headed towards Russia’s naval facilities at Tartus in Syria.
Sparta was subsequently observed unloading at Tartus on 7 September, while satellite imagery later showed Russian naval vessels remaining at the Syrian port. Russia had temporarily withdrawn its naval presence from the Mediterranean earlier this summer before returning at the end of August.
A second Russian convoy, led by the Ropucha-class landing ship Aleksandr Shabalin, entered the Mediterranean with the sanctioned cargo vessels Anastasiia and Yuriy Arshenevskiy. The convoy was detected between Sicily and Tunisia on 10 September and was monitored by an Italian Air Force maritime patrol aircraft. The cargo vessels have previously been linked to the transportation of Russian military equipment.
Reports allege that the renewed Russian naval activity in the Mediterranean Sea appears to be connected to its use of Tartus as a military and logistics hub, despite the political changes in Syria. The movements may also indicate that Russia is once again operating its so-called “Syrian Express”, the maritime supply route historically used to transport military equipment between Russia and its forces in Syria and Iran.
Feature photo from Marine Traffic.
Footage below of the drone attack.
Newsroom
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