Russian Cargo Ship Sinks on Its way to Load Military Equipment in Syria

Photo Credit: Patrick Nouhailler / Flickr

The Mediterranean Sea

Mystery at sea regarding the identity of a Russian cargo ship that suffered an explosion in the Mediterranean and no one is sure why it was there in the first place:

A Russian cargo ship, the Ursa Major, sank off the coast of Spain on Monday following a powerful explosion, leaving two of the sixteen crew members missing, according to reports from The Maritime Executive.

The vessel was reported en route from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, transporting two 45-ton hatches intended for a nuclear icebreaker’s reactor along with two Liebherr port cranes. Authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion as rescue teams continue searching for the missing sailors.

***UPDATE***

Reports that #Russian Gov cargo ship Ursa Major has suffered an explosion in engine room and sunk (or at least abandoned?) in Mediterranean. Ship carrying large cranes, strategic relevance.#OSINT #Ukraine #Syria

Recent photos: pic.twitter.com/e2X1CDl4CD

— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) December 23, 2024

On Saturday, the Oboronlogistika Group announced that its flagship vessel, Ursa Major, had departed on a mission to deliver port cranes to Vladivostok. Except that, in an unexpected turn of events, the company’s largest ship ended up in the Mediterranean.

Reports indicate that 14 rescued crew members from the Ursa Major have been brought to Cartagena, while two remain missing.

However, on Monday, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) reported that the cargo vessel Sparta, sent to Syria to retrieve Russian military equipment, suffered a breakdown in open waters and is now drifting near the coast of Portugal. 

At the same time, marine traffic monitors indicated that a Vladivostok-bound cargo ship Ursa Major—previously registered as Sparta III and visually resembling the vessel shown in HUR’s published images—is moving at an extremely slow speed of just over 1 knot in open waters between Spain and Algeria.

According to HUR, Sparta / Ursa Major experienced a failure in the fuel pipe of its main engine, leaving the Russian crew attempting repairs as the ship remained adrift.