The Norwegian company issued a statement giving its account of the events relating to the rescue of the Russian sailors.
The mystery has remained unsolved since December 23, when the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean, off the Spanish city of Cartagena, after suffering three explosions. Two of the sixteen sailors are still missing. Officially, the cargo ship Ursa Major had set sail for Vladivostok from St. Petersburg “to deliver ‘specialized’ cranes and hatch covers for icebreakers.”
On Wednesday December 25, the official Tass news agency, citing the press service of Oboronlogistika, the owner, spoke of “a terrorist attack”.
This company would be, according to American diplomacy, “the sole supplier to the Russian Ministry of Defense for the transport of troops and weapons to certain regions of Russia”. The Ursa Major and another ship, the Sparta, would have been involved in the “Syrian Express”, a supply route for Russian forces in Syria.
“This cannot be forgiven!”
While Oboronlogistika is categorical about the terrorist action which caused the sinking of the cargo ship, former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev automatically names another person responsible: Europe.
“The Norwegian-flagged ship Oslo Carrier 3 refused to take on board the Russian sailors from the Ursa Major who were drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Do you need further clarification? This cannot be forgiven!” Medvedev said on his Telegram channel, Friday December 27.
In his indictment, the current vice-president of the Russian Security Council indicates in particular that “Europe must be punished by all means” at Russia’s disposal. “Political, economic and all kinds of hybrid means,” he quotes.
What really happened?
According to the Spanish newspaper El País, it was Oboronlogistika first which indicated on Friday December 27 that the ship Oslo Carrier 3, flying the Norwegian flag, refused to receive on board the crew of the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major. When the lifeboat the Russian sailors were in after the sinking approached the Norwegian ship, its crew reportedly refused to help them, citing a ban that prevented them from welcoming them.
In a press release published the same day, the Norwegian company Oslo Bulk stressed that the sailors of the Oslo Carrier 3 had refused to receive the crew of the Ursa Major on board because another ship had been sent to come to them in help.
“The rescue operation was carried out by the Cartagena Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, which is responsible for this type of operations in this area. The MRCC ordered the captain not to take on board the crew of the ship in distress as their lifeboat was en route to the scene. In the meantime, the lifeboat was moored alongside our ship until the lifeboat arrived,” she detailed, providing evidence. photographic.
Adding: “The weather was good, none of the lifeboat crew were injured and there was no imminent danger to them.”
According to the Spanish newspaper La Verdad, this version from the Norwegian company was confirmed by the Spanish authorities.
The damaged ship is currently on the seabed, at a depth of 2,500 meters.
