Russian bulk carrier sinks in Mediterranean after explosion

This is reported by Radio Svoboda with reference to a number of Spanish media outlets that received information from the Spanish rescue services, Ukrinform reports.

The ship sank at night in international waters between the Spanish city of Aguilas and the Algerian city of Oran.

It is noted that 14 out of 16 sailors on board were taken by rescuers to the port of Cartagena. Two more are considered missing.

The cargo ship Ursa Major (“Big Bear”) left St. Petersburg on December 11, and its final destination was Vladivostok, where, according to the Vessel Finder service, it was supposed to arrive on January 22.

According to the sources of the Spanish newspaper La Verdad, the ship went into a roll after “an explosion occurred in the engine room.” According to the captain, at the time of the accident, the dry cargo ship was carrying empty containers.

The accident area was declared unsafe for navigation until the arrival of “a Russian warship, which took charge of the rescue operations,” La Verdad reports. They were later joined by a Spanish Navy patrol boat.

Russian media outlet Mediazone, citing OSINT analysts, reported that Russia sent the Sparta and Ursa Major bulk carriers to the Mediterranean Sea, accompanied by three large landing ships, presumably to evacuate the Russian military base in Syria after the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

According to publicly available data, the Ursa Major cargo ship, assigned to the port of Novorossiysk, is operated by the Russian Ministry of Defense's company Oboronlogistika LLC. The vessels of this company have been repeatedly used to supply Russian military bases in Syria. For example, the Sparta II vessel, as journalists found out, delivered Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems from Syria to Novorossiysk in August 2022.

In May 2022, the United States imposed sanctions on Oboronlogistika and several other Russian companies involved in maritime transportation for the Russian Defense Ministry.

As reported by Ukrinform, the DIU informed that the cargo ship Sparta, which Russia sent to export its weapons and equipment from Syria, broke down while in transit. Later, the Russian crew repaired the damage on the Sparta cargo ship.