The Russian merchant ship Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain. Fourteen crew members were brought to the port of Cartagena on Monday evening, and two more are missing. This is reported by the Spanish edition La Verdad, reports UNN.
According to the newspaper's sources, the merchant ship suffered an engine explosion. Sixteen crew members were on board the Ursa Major. According to preliminary data, two sailors are still missing.
The ship's captain stated that it was carrying containers that were empty at the time of the accident. The Ursa Major was in transit from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. It departed on December 11 and was scheduled to arrive on January 22.
According to The Maritime Executive, the vessel was transporting two 45-ton nuclear reactor hatches for a nuclear icebreaker and two port cranes from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok.
The ship was operated by a subsidiary of the sanctioned Russian defense company Oboronlogistika. The vessel was the main one on the route of Russian supplies to Tartus (Syria), a long-standing base of the Russian Navy in the Eastern Mediterranean. In May 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department included this heavy vessel in a package of sanctions related to Ukraine.
Russian vessel transporting troops from Syria breaks down off the coast of Portugal23.12.24, 10:10