AIS tracking of "Yauza" heading west from Tartus (March 31-April 3, 2016) |
After six months of ferrying materiel and personnel between Russia and Syria, the Northern Fleet's transport vessel "Yauza" appears to be heading home. "Yauza" departed Tartus, Syria, on March 30 and has continued a westerly transit through today. According to AIS data, the vessel may call in Valletta, Malta, before continuing to its homeport of Murmansk.
"Yauza" departed Severomorsk on September 10, 2015, and arrived in Novorossiysk on October 1. During its half-year deployment to the Black Sea, the naval transport vessel completed six trips between Novorossiysk and Tartus.
Dates | Route |
Oct 14-Oct 19 | Novorossiysk to Tartus |
Oct 25-Nov 2 | Tartus to Novorossiysk |
Nov 17-Nov 22 | Novorossiysk to Tartus |
Nov 26-Dec 2 | Tartus to Novorossiysk |
Jan 15-Jan 21 | Novorossiysk to Tartus |
Jan 26-Jan 31 | Tartus to Sevastopol |
Feb 1-Feb 2 | Sevastopol to Novorossiysk |
Feb 17-Feb 24 | Novorossiysk to Tartus |
Feb 28-Mar 3 | Tartus to Sevastopol |
Mar 4-Mar 5 | Sevastopol to Novorossiysk |
Mar 18-Mar 23 | Novorossiysk to Tartus |
Mar 30-present | Tartus to Malta |
"Yauza" in Novorossiysk (March 14, 2016) |
With the departure of "Yauza" and the disappearance of the commercial transport "Aleksandr Tkachenko" (last noted near Feodosiya on March 13), it appears the "Syrian Express" currently is relying exclusively on Russian Navy landing ships and a few formerly commercial ships to ferry cargo between Russia and Syria.