MOSCOW - Kyiv: Agencies
The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that a Russian cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday evening. The ship, which according to Ukrainian sources was on its way to Syria, sank after an explosion.
The Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean, somewhere on the water between Spain and Algeria, after an explosion in the engine room. The ministry said in a statement that 14 of the 16 crew members were rescued and taken to Cartagena, Spain. Two people are still missing.
Unverified video footage shows the ship heaving sharply to the right, with its bow much lower in the water than usual. The footage, filmed by a passing ship on Monday, was published on a Russian news website on Tuesday.
According to tracking data, the cargo ship left the Russian port of St. Petersburg on December 11 and was last seen when it sent a signal for the last time at around 11 p.m. (Belgian time) on Monday evening.
Icebreakers
The operator and owner of the Ursa Major is SK-Yug, a subsidiary of Oboronlogics. Both companies declined to comment on the sinking at this time. On December 20, Oboronlogics said the ship was carrying specialized harbor cranes that will be installed in the Russian port of Vladivostok, possibly as part of new icebreakers.
Unverified video footage shows two giant cranes mounted on the deck. In addition, the ship will also be carrying two 45-tonne craters intended for a nuclear icebreaker that Russia is building in Vladivostok.
Syria
However, according to Ukrainian intelligence services, the ship was en route to Syria to pick up military equipment. This report has not yet been independently verified, but according to tracking data, the ship had docked in the Syrian port of Tartus. Since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, satellite images have emerged suggesting that Russia was already preparing for a military withdrawal from the country.