Syria Declared No-Go Zone for Shipping After Assad Exit

International merchant vessels are steering clear of Syria following the departure of the Assad family from power. The sudden shift in leadership, marked by Bashar al-Assad’s recent flight to Russia, has ended the family's five-decade rule and prompted major disruptions in maritime activity.

Shipping data reveals that commercial vessels are now avoiding Syrian ports altogether. VesselFinder, a prominent AIS vessel tracking platform, shows no active commercial ships docked at any Syrian port. Similarly, a spokesperson from MarineTraffic confirmed, “According to AIS data there are no commercial vessels now in Syria.”

The impact on Syria’s fuel supply chain is already being felt. Analysts from TankerTrackers highlighted the recent actions of the Iranian suezmax Lotus, which reversed course in the Gulf of Suez. Originally scheduled to deliver 750,000 barrels of Iranian crude to Syria, the vessel is now heading back to Iran. This has raised alarms about potential fuel shortages in Syria, given the nation’s reliance on these shipments.

Data from maritime analytics firm Oceanbolt indicates that Russia has been Syria’s largest supplier of seaborne cargo this year, followed by Iran, Turkey, and Egypt. However, with the Assad family's departure, the flow of these imports is now in question.

Syria’s primary ports — Latakia, Banias, and Tartous — are seeing the effects firsthand. Tartous, in particular, has witnessed a notable shift as the Russian navy, which had long used the port as its only Mediterranean repair and resupply hub, made a swift exit over the weekend. This move underscores the geopolitical ripple effects of Assad’s departure and adds further uncertainty to the region's maritime and trade stability.