Iranian ship involved in accident in Caspian Sea on route used for arms shipments to Russia

An Iranian dry cargo vessel has been involved in an accident in the Caspian Sea. It was tracked on the same route used by ships suspected of carrying weapons from Iran to Russia.

Source: Russian media outlet Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories), citing Turkmenistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; CNN; The Wall Street Journal

Quote from Turkmenistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "On 14 January 2026, the Coast Guard Services of Turkmenistan received an SOS signal from the Iranian dry cargo ship Rona, which was in distress in the Caspian Sea."

Details: Turkmenistan's coast guard rescued 14 crew members, who were citizens of Iran and India. The Foreign Ministry said that the procedures required under international rules in such cases are currently being carried out.

Tracking data shows that the Rona called at the ports of Astrakhan, Makhachkala and Azov 20 times between October 2024 and December 2025. It sailed there from the Iranian ports of Amirabad and Anzali and was on another voyage to Astrakhan.

In 2023, a CNN investigation found that the main route for suspected maritime arms shipments from Iran to Russia runs between Astrakhan and Amirabad via Anzali.

The Wall Street Journal reported that hundreds of thousands of artillery shells and other types of ammunition are reaching Russia via this route.

Background:

• A unit from Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, in cooperation with the resistance movement Chornaya Iskra (Black Spark), carried out a special operation that resulted in strikes on two Russian vessels transporting weapons and military equipment in December 2025.
• They are under US sanctions for their involvement in transporting military cargo between Iran and Russia.

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