The Russian cargo ship Ursa major (Big Dipper), between the coasts of Spain and Algeria, was the victim of a “terrorist act”, according to the state news agency RIA citing the company that owns the ship, Oboronlogistics. This shipping company depends on the Russian Ministry of Defense and is designated as the sole supplier to the Government of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the transportation of goods to Crimea, the Kaliningrad enclave, the Arctic and the Kuril Islands.
“Oboronlogistics believes that a targeted terrorist attack against the ship was carried out on December 23,” the same sources add to Russian state agencies. The event resulted in two fatalities and, according to testimonies from the survivors, around 1:30 p.m. (peninsular time) three consecutive explosions were recorded on the starboard side of the stern, the right rear part of the boat, which caused the ship to It would probably list due to the entry of water.
The incident occurred when the boat was sailing between the coasts of Spain and Algeria. 14 crew members were transferred to the port of Cartagena on Monday by Maritime Rescue to receive medical attention. The fifteen-year-old ship had left St. Petersburg two weeks ago for the port of Vladivostok.
The ship, built in 2009, sank after an explosion devastated its engine room and two of its 16 crew members are still missing, Reuters reported. The merchant ship, according to Russian media, was heading to the Vladivostok port, in the far east of Russia, with two port cranes and parts for the construction of icebreakers.
