The Russian freighter Ursa major (Ursa Major) has sunk in the Mediterranean, between the coasts of Spain and Algeria, after suffering an explosion in the engine room, as reported by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which indicates that 14 of the 16 crew members have been rescued. but two are still missing. The ship belongs to the Russian shipping company Oboronlogistics, dependent on the Russian Ministry of Defense and designated as the sole supplier to Vladimir Putin’s Government for the transportation of goods to Crimea, the Kaliningrad enclave, the Arctic and the Kuril Islands.
According to the Russian Government in a statement, the ship sank after suffering an explosion in the engine room. The 14 rescued crew members have been transferred to the port of Cartagena by Maritime Rescue, as reported by the Government Delegation in the Region of Murcia in a press release.
According to the maritime transport monitoring website LSEG, the ship that sank in the Mediterranean this Tuesday left the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on December 11 and the last time it was detected was at 22:04 GMT (23:04 in mainland Spain). on Monday between Algeria and Spain. Upon leaving Saint Petersburg, he indicated that he was heading to another Russian port, Vladivostok, in the far east of the country. Previously, he had indicated that his destination was the Syrian port of Tartus.
The SK-Yug company, a subsidiary of the Russian logistics company Oboronlogistics, is the owner and operator of the ship, which it considers its flagship. The parent company has refused to comment to Reuters about the incident. In a statement dated December 20, he stated that the Ursa Major It transported port cranes of 380 tons each to Vladivostok for the expansion of the port, as well as parts for icebreaking ships.
It also specifies that “the largest Oboronlogistics ship is once again involved in the implementation of State tasks.” [ruso] for the development of port infrastructure and the Northern Sea Route”, in reference to the maritime route through the Arctic Ocean that is opened by the melting of ice accelerated by global warming.
Oboronlogistics defines itself on its website as part of the “structure of the military construction complex of the Ministry of Defense” and notes that its “main objective is to guarantee the needs of the Ministry of Defense related to the transportation, storage and production of military and special purposes.
