Ghost ships and hidden cargo: Russia's secret arms pipeline to Libya

By Tony Wesolowsky | 2025-03-20

Russia is utilizing hundreds of aging vessels with murky ownership to ship arms from Syria to Libya, leaked documents from the European Union (EU) naval mission reveal.

The papers, cited by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), show how the freighters -- known as a "ghost fleet" -- relied on a range of tricks to evade detection as they transferred Russian military equipment to strongman Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya.

The study underscores growing European concern over Russia's influence in Libya, which officials are convinced is part of a wider Russian strategy to project power in the Mediterranean and several African countries.

The March 13 report concluded the vessel "may be carrying firearms destined for Libya" and recommended that authorities closely monitor it.

Evasion tactics

Much of the attention on Russia's ghost fleet has focused on its role in evading sanctions to ship oil to global markets. By mid-2024, this clandestine armada was responsible for transporting more than 70% of Russia's oil and its byproducts.

Russia's ghost fleet employs a range of tactics to evade detection. These vessels often disable their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders to "go dark," confounding efforts by maritime authorities to track their movements.

At least one of the ships suspected of transporting Russian arms to Libya employed that same tactic, the ICIJ report found.

Last spring, a Cameroonian-flagged cargo ship, the Barbaros, sailed through Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait, on a journey from Russia to a port in eastern Libya controlled by Haftar, a military leader who effectively controls the eastern part of Libya, it said.

An analyst of maritime activities on the strait, Yörük Işık, posted photos of the ship on social media.

On X last April, Isik described it as a "ship of interest" transporting trucks that are often suited for military missions and manufactured by a sanctioned Russian company.

'Militarization of the region'

Isik's tweeting appeared to trigger action by law enforcement, according to leaked documents, cited by ICIJ, from a EU naval mission called Operation Irini. Its mission is to block arms shipments to Libya, which is under an international arms embargo.

A report by Interpol found the Barbaros had manipulated its AIS transponder and had registered under different names three times and under different flags at least 10 times since 2013.

On May 1, Operation Irini boarded the Barbaros and discovered 115 Russian-made trucks. The vessel was allowed to proceed because the trucks had not been modified for military use. Even so, the EU naval mission wrote in an internal report that the shipment represented "a confirmation of a trend of militarization of the region."

The Kremlin has backed Haftar for years with weapons, money and military personnel, grooming him as its principal ally in Libya.

A United Nations-appointed mission reported in 2023 that forces loyal to Haftar were guilty of "crimes against humanity," and an Amnesty International report from 2022 accused a militia led by his son of engaging in murder, torture and rape.

Mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force that had been operating in Libya since at least 2018, were supplanted in 2024 by the Africa Corps, a unit under the direct control of Russia's military, the leaked documents reported, according to ICIJ.

Haftar partnership

Western officials have reached out to Haftar in an apparent bid to counter Russia's growing influence in eastern Libya.

"What we don't do in the East, Russia will do," said EU Ambassador to Libya Nicola Orlando, ICIJ reported, citing minutes of a meeting in October at the EU naval mission headquarters.

Russia's presence in Libya gave it control over migrant trafficking routes to Europe and creates a hub for naval operations not far from European shores, said Anas El Gomati, director of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute.

Libya is the dominant transit point for migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to reach Europe.

"Russia has a partnership with Haftar, but its presence in Libya is much more about the West," he told ICIJ. "Ukraine is the eastern flank of NATO, and Libya is the southern flank -- it's Europe's soft underbelly."