bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

A “terrorist act” sank the cargo ship that went down in international waters in the Mediterranean this week, the Russian state-owned company that owns the vessel said on Wednesday.
The Oboronlogistika company said it “thinks a targeted terrorist attack was committed on December 23, 2024, against the Ursa Major,” it said in a statement cited by Russian news agencies, without indicating who may have been behind the act or why.
The ship sank in international waters off Spain in the early hours of Tuesday after having sent a distress call for help on Monday.
“Three consecutive explosions” took place on the ship before it began taking on water, added the company, which belongs to the Russian defence ministry.
Oboronlogistika did not say what evidence it had allowing it to conclude a terrorist attack sank the Ursa Major.
Russian foreign ministry’s crisis unit said on Telegram on Tuesday that the ship sank “after an explosion in the engine room”.
It added that out of the 16 Russian crew members on board, 14 had been rescued and taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena and two were missing.
An office of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which carries out the major probes in the country, said on Tuesday it had opened an investigation into possible maritime transport “security regulations violations”.
The sinking of the Ursa Major came after a Russian tanker transporting fuel oil partially sunk in a strait between Moscow-annexed Crimea and southern Russia on December 16, causing a major oil spill.
The ship sent a distress call on Monday morning from off the coast of southeastern Spain in bad weather, reporting it was listing and sailors had launched a lifeboat, Spain’s sea rescue service said in a statement.
Spain sent out a helicopter and rescue boats and took the survivors to port, the service said.
A Russian warship then arrived and took charge of the rescue operation since the ship was between Spanish and Algerian waters, after which the Ursa Major sank overnight.

The Ursa Major is listed on MarineTraffic.com as a 124.7-metre (409-foot) long general cargo ship
It is owned by a subsidiary of Russia’s Oboronlogistika, which belongs to the defence ministry and also provides civilian transport and logistics, the Russian foreign ministry said.
The Ursa Major was sailing from the Russian city of Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East.
Last week, Oboronlogistika issued a press release with photos of the ship in port, saying it was to transport a particularly large and heavy load: cranes each weighing 380 tonnes and hatch covers for icebreakers each weighing 45 tonnes to Vladivostok.
It said this was part of “state” efforts to develop ports and the northern sea route via the Arctic.
Delivery by sea is best for such bulky equipment and the company has “great experience” in this, it said.
Agentstvo investigative news site wrote that the hatch covers were for a vaunted new nuclear icebreaker called Lider, designed to break thick ice on the northern sea route.
The United States in 2022 imposed sanctions on Oboronlogistika and ships including the Ursa Major for providing “transport services … for the delivery of cargo to Russian-occupied Crimea”.
This means any US organisation dealing with the company or its ships would risk sanctions.
Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence said the Ursa Major was also used to supply Russian troops in Syria where Moscow has a naval base at Tartus.
A map on Oboronologistika’s website shows the company among other things covers a route from Novorossiysk, in southern Russia, to Tartus, Russia’s naval base in Syria.
There is uncertainty over the future of Russia’s bases in Syria after the removal of Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad.


Russia says ‘terrorist attack’ behind cargo ship sinking in Mediterranean Sea

Wife of Syria’s Assad badly ill with leukaemia, has 50-50 chance of surviving, reports say

As regional actors rise, US-China story no longer defines global affairs

Which celebrities died in 2024? From O.J. Simpson and Shannen Doherty of Beverly Hills, 90210, to Maggie Smith, Liam Payne and Quincy Jones – here are 21 notable names we said goodbye to this year

Russia

Russian cargo ship Ursa Major transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, on December 4. Photo: Reuters

Survivors of the sinking of Russian cargo ship Ursa Major arrive at a port in Spain’s Cartagena on December 23. Photo: Reuters

Russia’s overheated economy is squeezing one of its key China trading channels

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, left, and China’s President Xi Jinping in front of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square, Beijing in May. Photo: Pool / AFP / Getty Images / TNS

Russia says cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after blast, 2 missing

Russian cargo ship Ursa Major transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: Reuters

Russian cargo ship Ursa Major, which the Russian Foreign Ministry said sank in the Mediterranean Sea after an explosion in its engine room, lists in this still image obtained from a video released on December 23. Photo: Reuters

Russian cargo ship Ursa Major. Photo: Reuters

News

World

Russia & Central Asia

Ursa Major’s owner said three explosions took place on the vessel before it went down in international waters off Spain


Ursa Major’s owner said three explosions took place on the vessel before it went down in international waters off Spain.


Marine safety