The mysterious stopover of Sparta IV near Sardinia

Satellite Imagery of the Convoy;??????? Sources: European Space Agency

From Maritime Executive by Giangiuseppe Pili & Peter Boerstling

 
For the first time since the Syrian Express started moving interesting materials for the Russian military logistics, one convoy moved in close to Italian shores, though remaining in international waters.

Russian-flagged cargo ship Sparta IV lingered off Sardinia (VesselFinder/Wanderer)

 

The sanctioned Russian-flagged freighter Sparta IV (IMO 9743033) departed Baltiysk, Russia on 31 December 2025.
Sparta IV proceeded southbound from the Baltic Sea toward the Mediterranean.
Sparta IV was tracked moving in parallel with another Russian cargo ship, the Mys Zhelaniya (IMO 9366110).
Both ships departed from Baltiysk under the escort of a Russian Udaloy-class destroyer, the Severomorsk.
Sparta IV and the other similar ships on this route have had escorts in the last two years, given the increasing risks associated to sea and aerial drone strikes and sabotage acts.

The Sparta IV's declared destination was Port Said, Egypt, but the vessel arrived in Tartus, Syria on 19 January 2026.
Sparta IV then returned westward into the central Mediterranean Sea and made an abrupt change of course, shifting north into the central Tyrrhenian Sea closer to Italian shores.
This is unprecedented as the ship had never transited nearby before, and this alerted the Italian authorities.

The new course put the vessel east of Sardinia on the evening of 3 February.
Surface conditions in the Sardinian area were moderately rough, but well within normal limits for a vessel of Sparta IV’s size, including its related vessels.
Weather data showed wave heights of about 2.5 meters at the time.

Sparta IV was escorted by the Russian Navy destroyer RFS Severomorsk and the Russian fleet tanker Kama.
On 4 February, Sparta IV was in international waters off Ogliastra, east of Sardinia, alongside the other two vessels.
It loitered on a north–south steady elliptic route for a few days.
These maneuvers were performed at a steady speed of approximately 10-11 knots.

Italian law enforcement agency Guardia di Finanza conducted aerial surveillance with a P-72B maritime patrol aircraft.
The Italian Navy dispatched the FREMM-class Frigate ITS Spartaco Schergat (F598) and monitored the Russian vessels, which shifted further north along the Sardinian coast, operating for roughly two days in the area off Capo Comino.
On that side of the Sardinian coast, there are several Italian military bases and installation.
Italian law enforcement and the Italian Navy maintained surveillance for the duration of this activity.

Sparta IV’s Recent Route

On 9 February, after two days, the Russian vessels sailed south down the coast towards the Gulf of Orosei.
During this period, the Italian Navy added an additional FREMM-class Frigate the ITS Emilio Bianchi (F589) to assist with the monitoring of the Russian vessels‘ navigation patterns.

On Monday, 9 February 2026, at 7:22 UTC, Sparta IV possibly deactivated its AIS, triggering the Italian Air Force to launch a Beechcraft B.350ER SPYDR for surveillance.
The Sparta IV possibly reactivated its AIS on Monday, 9 February 2026, at 13:55 UTC, and the Russian vessels proceeded into the Sardinia Channel on a course toward the Strait of Gibraltar.
Italian Naval assets maintained surveillance of the Russian vessels as they departed the Tyrrhenian area.s

What Could have Happened

This is the first time in the history of the Sparta IV's operations that it has changed its pattern of life in this way.
Since 2018, the ship has never passed so close to Sardinia on the eastern side, but only between Tunisia and Sardinia in order to reach Syria or return to Russia, often followed by NATO air patrols sent from Sigonella, Italy.

It is doubtful that the deviation is due to maritime safety reasons (waves and winds).
It could have easily found less difficult anchorages or loitering areas further from a NATO’s country’s patrols.
While it remained in international waters, the convoy was quite close to significant military installations, which triggered the suspicions of the Italian authorities.
It remains possible that they were studying NATO’s reactions, including both aerial and naval patrols, as in previous reported cases.

This is not an impossibility considering that ships of the Russia-linked shadow fleet have previously been iplicated in intelligence operations or closely related activities, including sabotage.
The Russian force involved was minimal for any kind of military escalation, so everything suggests a limited monitoring operation, given the capabilities of the vessels involved.
The possibility remains that they were waiting for other ships or experiencing a malfunction.

 

Links :

• The Maritime Executive : Russian Military Cargo Ship Draws Attention Lingering for Days off Sardinia
• L'Unione Sarda : Sparta IV on the Horizon: Harmless Passage or Experimental Provocation
• James Madison Univ : Hunting the ghost ship: How an IA professor tracked the SPARTA IV (2023)
• Russia Maritime Watch : Russian Naval Transit and GNSS Disruption in the Western Mediterranean: An OSINT Assessment (February 2026) 

This man says he’s solved the Bermuda Triangle. Why doesn’t the world believe him?

 

Jaromir//Getty Images

From POP Mechanics by Tim Newcomb

The answer is simple, he says ... but it’s not much fun.

 
Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:An Australian scientist says probabilities are the leading cause of the Bermuda Triangle disappearances.
Add in suspect weather, and iffy plane and boat piloting, and Karl Kruszelnicki believes there’s no reason to believe in the Bermuda Triangle phenomenon.

While the conspiracy of the Bermuda Triangle has existed for decades, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and Lloyd’s of London has long championed the same ideas.
Pick any one of the more than 50 ships or 20 planes that have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle in the last century. Each one has a story without an ending, leading to a litany of conspiracy theories about the disappearances in the area, marked roughly by Florida, Bermuda, and the Greater Antilles.

Australian scientist Karl Kruszelnicki doesn’t subscribe to the Bermuda Triangle’s supernatural reputation. Neither does the United States’ own National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Both have been saying for years that there’s really no Bermuda Triangle mystery.

 

In fact, the loss and disappearance of ships and planes is a mere fact of probabilities.
“There is no evidence that mysterious disappearances occur with any greater frequency in the Bermuda Triangle than in any other large, well-traveled area of the ocean,” NOAA wrote in 2010.

And since 2017, Kruszelnicki has been saying the same thing. 

 

NOAA says environmental considerations can explain away most of the Bermuda Triangle disappearances, highlighting the Gulf Stream’s tendency towards violent changes in weather, the number of islands in the Caribbean Sea offering a complicated navigation adventure, and evidence that suggests the Bermuda Triangle may cause a magnetic compass to point to true north instead of magnetic north, causing for confusion in wayfinding.

“The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard contend that there are no supernatural explanations for disasters at sea,” NOAA says. 

“Their experience suggests that the combined forces of nature and human fallibility outdo even the most incredulous science fiction.”

Kruszelnicki has routinely garnered public attention for espousing these very thoughts on the Bermuda Triangle, first in 2017 and then again in 2022 before resurfacing once more in 2023.

Throughout it all, he’s stuck to the same idea: the numbers don’t lie.

Even with some high-profile disappearances—such as Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger torpedo bombers lost in 1945—pushing the theory into popular culture, Kruszelnicki points out that every instance contains a degree of poor weather or likely human error (or both, as in the case of Flight 19) as the true culprit.

But culture clings to Bermuda Triangle conspiracy theories.

The concepts of sea monsters, aliens, and even the entirety of Atlantis dropping to the ocean floor—those are fodder for books, television, and movies.

It sure does sound more exciting than poor weather and mathematical probabilities, anyway, even if the “boring” story holds more water.

 

Links :

• GeoGarage blog : The Bermuda Triangle: A breeding ground for rogue .. / from the Bermuda Triangle to ... / Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle solved?

Puffs up to intimidate enemy

Puffs up to intimidate enemy! pic.twitter.com/USQ7Wc18w8

— 🧬Maxpein🧬 (@maximumpain333) January 30, 2026

Don't pick a jellyfish to be your Valentine -- they have no hearts

Don't pick a jellyfish to be your Valentine -- they have no hearts! But here's a red jelly in honor of #ValentinesDay anyhow! pic.twitter.com/wvvCELv0di

— NOAA Ocean Exploration (@oceanexplorer) February 14, 2018

Ancient people had nautical tech, know-how to cross hazardous Arctic channel

An exciting discovery has been made at an archaeological site in the Arctic. 

The Calgary Eyeopener's Loren McGinnis speaks with University of Calgary professor Matthew Walls about how this changes what we know about prehistoric people living in the area.

From CBC news by Emily Chung

New archeological evidence for repeat sea journeys and stays at remote islands 

Archeologists have found the remains of an ancient camp on a remote High Arctic island that dates back more than 4,000 years.

They offer surprising new insights about the first people who lived near what is now the Canada-Greenland border and journeyed to take advantage of a rich new ecosystem that formed around the time.

 

Localization of Carey Oer in the GeoGarage platform (DGA nautical raster chart)

 

The Paleo-Inuit archeological site was found in Kitsissut, a rocky cluster of cliff-edged islands between Greenland and Ellesmere Island. 

 

A view of the crossing between Kitsissut and the shores of Avanersuaq in northwest Greenland, with a minimum distance of 53 kilometres. 

UAV image from Isbjørne Island in clear weather looking towards key locations, with beach ridges and Early Paleo-Inuit features in the foreground (figure by authors). 

The archaeological beach ridges where ancient tent rings were found can be seen in the foreground. 

(Walls et al.)

 

Distance of crossings to Kitsissut from key locations, including Nuuliit, the closest Early Paleo-Inuit site

(image source: Copernicus Sentinel-2; figure by authors).

 

As it was thousands of years ago, getting there today by boat is a journey of at least 53 kilometres from the nearest shore in harsh, High Arctic sea conditions.
"It would have been a fairly extraordinary journey for them to get to this location by watercraft," said Matthew Walls, lead author of the new study describing the findings published Monday in the journal Antiquity.

Study co-author Mari Kleist of the University of Greenland studies a Paleo-Inuit tent ring visible in the foreground. (Walls et al.)

Walls estimates that by canoe or kayak, getting to Kitsissut would have taken 12 to 15 hours of difficult paddling — so long that the weather might easily go from calm to stormy en route.
The archeological site contains evidence that many people visited and stayed there repeatedly. 
"It's obviously a place where people are returning over the long term," Walls said.

A photo of the research team. Back row, left to right: Pia Egede (Ilisimatusarfik/University of Greenland), Mari Kleist (Ilisimatusarfik), Pauline Knudsen (Ilisimatusarfik), Qalaseq Sadorana (Qaanaaq), Pivinnguaq Mørch (Ilisimatusarfik), Matthew Walls (University of Calgary). Front row, left to right: Niels Miunge (Qaanaaq), Otto Simigaq (Qaanaaq). (Matthew Walls/University of Calgary)

Max Friesen, a University of Toronto Arctic archeologist who has collaborated with the paper's other authors but was not involved in this research, said the findings suggest the Paleo-Inuit people had much more sophisticated seafaring technology than previously thought.
He said small fragments of their boats have been found, suggesting they had canoe- or kayak-like vessels made of animal skins pulled over a bone or wood frame. But not much more was known.

Friesen, who was Walls's PhD supervisor, said the Paleo-Inuit were found across the High Arctic.

If they had the skills and technology to travel repeatedly to Kitsissut, they likely could also do things like hunt seals or even whales far out in the ocean. 
That means they may have had wider options for what resources they could use and how they could impact ecosystems thousands of years ago.
"It has huge implications across the rest of the Arctic, right?" said Friesen. 

"So that's really exciting, to really add to what we know about the transportation technology."

What the ancient camp looks like

Walls worked with University of Greenland (Ilisimatusarfik) Inuit archeologists Mari Kleist and Pauline Knudsen, and a team that included Inuit from nearby communities to map the archeological site and exposed artifacts between 2017 and 2019.

A set of ridges have been rising out of the ocean over time, springing back from the weight of now-melted glaciers.

On the oldest, highest ridges, farthest inland from the modern coastline, there are least 18 tent rings — circular areas cleared of rocks, with a ring of stones around them. 
Those stones may have held down the edges of the tents, likely sealskin stretched over driftwood frames.

 

The researchers mapped 18 Paleo-Inuit tent rings on the beach ridges in Kitsissut.

(Matthew Walls/University of Calgary)

There was typically a central hearth with the remains of burnt driftwood in the centre, and a line of stones dividing the tent into two "rooms" that could have been used for different activities, such as working with animal skins or making stone tools.

A seabird bone found inside one of the tent rings was sent for radiocarbon dating.

From that analysis, the researchers estimated the age of the site to be between 4,000 to 4,400 years old, a period when the first archeological evidence of people, known as the Paleo-Inuit, are found across the High Arctic.

 

Kitsissut refers to the group of islands and skerries, many of which do not have individual names in Kalallisut. The archaeological features on Isbjørne Island were identified by the authors during a 2019 survey of Kitsissut and include features from the Early Paleo-Inuit and later periods

(image source: Maxar; figure by authors).

Polynya pioneers of many species

It was also around that time that the rich ecosystem was developing in Kitsissut, due to the formation of a rare channel of open water in the sea ice called the Pikialosorsuaq or North Water polynya.

Walls said it's caused by the unique wind, current and geographic conditions in this area.
"It's a really important ecological hotspot," said Walls. 

The open water allows for phytoplankton blooms that support an entire food chain.

 

This map shows Kitsissut's location in the polynya between Ellesmere Island (Canada) and Greenland. (Walls et al.)

The cliffs of Kitsissut are home to nesting colonies of seabirds and the marine mammals such as seals hunt in the surrounding waters, many of which would have first moved there when the polynya opened.

Walls said that's important for how people think about these Arctic ecosystems and their conservation. 
"Indigenous communities are part of their development over the long term, right back to their early formation," he said, supporting the argument for Indigenous stewardship today.

Lesley Howse is director of archeology at the Inuit Heritage Trust, the Inuit organization that co-governs cultural heritage with the Nunavut government, including archeological collections and education, permitting for archaeological projects and requests to work with Inuit belongings.

Howse, who has previously worked with Walls, Kleist and Knudsen but wasn't involved in this study, said archeologists used to think that Paleo-Inuit relied heavily on hunting animals on land.
She's not surprised by evidence that they had such a high level of skill on the sea, given the need to make use of all available resources to survive in such a harsh environment.
"The water is essential to living in the north," she said. 

 

Early Paleo-Inuit features on Isbjørne Island; A) location of site beneath the nesting cliff; B & C) sample of bilobate tent rings with axial features, which bisect the dwelling and include central hearths; D & E) Early Paleo-Inuit tent rings included adjacent dwelling structures or box hearths (figure by authors).

 

"You have to depend and rely on all animals that are there and adapt with the technologies you have. I think this [research] kind of brings this to light."

 

Links :

• Cambridge Univ : Voyage to Kitsissut: a new perspective on Early Paleo-Inuit watercraft and maritime lifeways at a High Arctic polynya