Three grain ships arrived on Sunday, November 9, carrying more than 70,000 tons of wheat, two from Ukraine and one from Russia.
A Syrian Grain Establishment official, who asked not to be named, told Enab Baladi that no formal decision has been issued to ban imports of Russian wheat.
“We contracted with different traders who are free to choose the wheat’s country of origin,” the source said. “What matters to us are the specifications and compliance with our technical purchasing standards, whether the origin is Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, or elsewhere.”
Youssef Arnous, head of operations at Tartus Port (western Syria), told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that unloading had already begun. He said part of the wheat is being stored in the port’s silos, while the rest is transported directly by trucks and trains in cooperation with the Syrian Railways.
Arnous added that a fourth ship is waiting to discharge its 26,000-ton cargo, and other ships carrying around 50,000 tons are expected in the coming days. He noted the port is providing facilities and logistics in coordination with the relevant authorities.
On board a sanctioned vessel
On October 21, the independent Norwegian outlet The Barents Observer reported that the vessel S. Kuznetsov departed the port of Arkhangelsk on October 18 and, three days later, reached the Norwegian Sea. According to vessel-tracking data, it was scheduled to arrive in Syria on November 8. It is the same cargo ship that reached Tartus seaport on Sunday, November 9, according to the tracking site VesselFinder.
Sanctioned vessel S. KUZNETSOV arrives at Tartus Port (western Syria), November 9 (VesselFinder)
The S. Kuznetsov is subject to U.S. sanctions. According to the WAR SANCTIONS database, the ship took part in January and April 2024 in transporting stolen grain from the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk, under temporary Russian control in the Zaporizhzhia region, to Egypt and Turkey.
The ship is affiliated with Russia’s Northern Shipping Company (OJSC Northern Shipping Company), which is under sanctions.
According to the site, this company provides services under government defense contracts to transport cargo for the Russian Ministry of Defense, and since 2014 has been an active participant in a large logistics chain to build Arctic infrastructure at the ministry’s behest.
In May 2022, the United States sanctioned 27 vessels belonging to Northern Shipping Company, including the S. Kuznetsov, as well as the company itself, for involvement in the Russian Federation’s military logistics sector and for transporting tanks and other military equipment for Russia’s armed forces.
Is dealing with sanctioned vessels lawful?
The United States and many other countries imposed sanctions on Russia after its war on Ukraine in February 2022, targeting several sectors, most prominently banking, technology, and oil.
Mohammad Harbaliya, a researcher and consultant in international law, told Enab Baladi that, in principle, dealing with Russian entities sanctioned by the United States may expose counterparties to financial sanctions, asset freezes, and restrictions on commercial transactions with parties dealing with Russia.
However, he said, enforcement is discretionary and linked to U.S. interests. For example, the United Arab Emirates did not halt dealings with Russia after U.S. sanctions were imposed, continued buying Russian oil for ten months during 2022, and kept doing business with Russian businessmen and companies. The UAE is also the largest importer of Russian gold.
Although these dealings irritated the United States, they did not rise to the level of imposing sanctions on the UAE as persons or entities, Harbaliya explained.
Regarding Syria’s import of Russian wheat aboard Russian-flagged sanctioned vessels, Harbaliya said the traded commodity here is wheat, which is not listed among items subject to U.S. sanctions. It is a humanitarian foodstuff typically exempted, so importing Russian wheat would not expose Syria to U.S. sanctions.
Resuming wheat imports from Russia
Katerina Yaresko, a journalist with the SeaKrime project that tracks Russia’s illicit shipping, wrote on X that Russia had resumed grain shipments to Syria from Crimea.
On August 17, Yaresko said Russia had carried out a third shipment within a single month, with the cargo ship Damas Wave (Comoros-flagged, formerly Golden Yara) sailing regularly between the Crimean port of Feodosia and Syria’s Tartus Port.
She said the ship left Crimea on August 15 or 16 heading to Syria with grain on board, and that a Turkish company manages the vessel’s security.
Date and destination of the Russian vessel’s departure to Syria, August 17, 2025 (Katerina Yaresko/X).
An April shipment
Russia delivered a wheat consignment to Syria on April 26, the first since the fall of the former Syrian regime, via Latakia Port (northwestern Syria).
Russia’s TASS news agency reported at the time, quoting a trader who had organized Russian grain supplies to Syria under the former regime, that the vessel Pola Marina transported 6,600 tons of wheat to Latakia.
The trader, whom TASS did not name, said a Russian company organized the delivery.
He added that the company “had not previously been involved” in supplying Russian grain to Syria, and stated then that “there is no talk at present of resuming regular grain supplies from Russia to Syria,” calling that shipment “exceptional.”
On December 13, 2024, days after Assad’s ouster, Russia suspended wheat exports to Syria until further notice due to “uncertainty regarding the new authorities” and delays in payment of prior dues.
Northern Shipping Company’s STG Engineering stopped exporting wheat to Syria, but expressed readiness to resume after engaging the new Damascus government.
On December 30, 2024, the company’s director-general, Dmitry Trifonov, told TASS that exports to Syria were halted after the overthrow of the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime, but could resume once contacts are established with the new authorities.
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