The ship was used to transport troops and deliver goods to Russian-occupied Crimea.
Victim of an explosion after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, the cargo ship Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean, south of the Spanish city of Cartagena. Of the eighteen sailors, sixteen were evacuated safely before being redirected to Spain while two others are still missing. A report was confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 24.
This cargo ship had headed to Vladivostok from St. Petersburg “to transport 'specialized' cranes and hatch covers for icebreakers.” But 12 days later, the explosion in the Mediterranean proved fatal.
According to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti, the Russian embassy in Spain said it was “examining the circumstances of the sinking” and that it was “in contact with the Spanish authorities.”
But according to Opex360, the Ursa Major is not a simple commercial cargo ship given that it is operated by the company SK-Yug, a subsidiary of the Oboronlogistika OOO group, closely linked to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
According to the specialized site, “the main objectives of the company are to ensure the needs of the Russian Ministry of Defense for transportation, storage and production of military and special-purpose goods.” According to American diplomacy, it would thus be “the only supplier to the Russian Ministry of Defense for the transport of troops to certain regions of Russia”.
After the annexation of Crimea, the company would be the only one providing “transport services of the Russian Ministry of Defense for the delivery of goods to Russian-occupied Crimea.”
According to some sources, the Ursa Major could be expected in Syria as the Russian navy was preparing to evacuate.
