Sheet El Espanol On December 24, it was reported that an explosion occurred in the engine area of the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major on December 23, causing the ship to sink in the Mediterranean Sea early on the morning of December 24.
The ship Ursa Major moves through the Bosphorus Strait in Türkiye in 2023
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the sinking and said 14 crew members were rescued and taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena, while two others were missing, according to Reuters.
The Ursa Major was built in 2009 and departed from Saint Petersburg 2 weeks ago to the city of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. The previous estimated arrival date was January 22, 2025.
The area where the ship sank was in the Mediterranean Sea between the Spanish city of Aguilas and Algeria’s Oran. The ship’s captain said the ship only carried empty containers.
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News page Mediazona Russia quoted open source intelligence analysts as saying that five Russian cargo ships owned by the company Oboronlogistika recently moved into the Mediterranean, including the Ursa Major and Sparta. These two ships have long participated in transporting goods to Russian forces in Syria on a route called the Syrian Highway. Analysts believe that all five ships are responsible for removing equipment from two Russian military bases in Syria.
On December 20, Oboronlogistika issued a statement saying that the Ursa Major was on a journey to the Far East, carrying goods for a large project under the state’s mandate to develop port infrastructure and the Northern Sea Route. According to the statement, the ship carries cranes weighing 380 tons each to expand the port at Vladivostok and hatch covers weighing 45 tons for new icebreakers.
Ukrainian intelligence announced on December 23 that the Russian cargo ship Sparta brought to relocate equipment from Syria had broken down near Portugal, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
