The Russian cargo ship Ursa major (Big Dipper) has sunk in the Mediterranean, between the coasts of Spain and Algeria, after suffering an explosion in the engine room, as reported by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which indicates that 14 of the 16 crew members have been rescued, but two are still missing.
According to the Russian Government in a statement, the ship sank after suffering an explosion in the engine room. The 14 rescued crew members have been taken to Spain.
According to the maritime transport monitoring website LSEG, the ship left the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on December 11 and the last time it was detected was at 22:04 GMT (23:04 in mainland Spain) on Monday between Algeria and Spain. Upon leaving Saint Petersburg, he indicated that he was heading to another Russian port, Vladivostok, in the Russian extreme east. Previously, he had indicated that his destination was the Syrian port of Tartous.
The SK-Yug company, a subsidiary of the Russian logistics company Oboronlogistics, is the owner and operator of the ship, which it considers its flagship. The parent company has refused to comment to Reuters about the incident. In one, he stated that the Ursa Major was transporting port cranes of 380 tons each to Vladivostok for the expansion of the port, as well as parts for icebreaking ships. It also specifies that “the largest Oboronlogistics ship is once again involved in the implementation of State tasks.” [ruso] for the development of port infrastructure and the Northern Sea Route”, in reference to the maritime route through the Arctic Ocean that is opened by the melting of the Arctic due to global warming.
