The largest cargo ship in the Russian military’s logistics fleet, the Ursa Major, sank in the Mediterranean Sea after an explosion in its engine room.
The Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday confirmed that the ship was lost in international waters following the blast. Two crew members remain missing, while 14 others were rescued and brought to the Spanish port of Cartagena.
The ministry provided no details on the cause of the explosion. The Ursa Major had a capacity of 1,200 tons and was capable of carrying 120 vehicles on its deck.
The Ursa Major sank while it was sailing through international waters between Spain and Algeria, leaving two crew members missing. The vessel, built in 2009, was controlled by Oboronlogistika, a company that is part of the Russian Defence Ministry’s military construction operations, which had previously said it was en route to the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok with two giant port cranes lashed to its deck.
Its owner, Oboronlogistika – a company affiliated with the Russian defence ministry – said on Wednesday that three explosions on the starboard side of the ship caused the sinking. The firm described the incident as an “act of terrorism”, but did not specify who might be responsible for the apparent attack.