Russian Freight Vessel Sinks in the Mediterranean

Moscow (Eurotoday) – Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean after an engine room outbreak; two crew members are missing, and 14 rescued. 

Russian Foreign Ministry has announced that a Russian cargo vessel called Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean Sea overnight after an outbreak tore through its engine room, and two of its staff are still missing.

As reported by Reuters, the ship, made in 2009, was handled by Oboronlogistika. This group is part of the Russian Defence Ministry’s military construction operations, which had earlier said it was on the path to the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok with two big port cranes tied to its tier. Oboronlogistika was placed under sanctions by the United States in 2022 for its links to Russia’s military, as was the Ursa Major itself.

Russian Foreign Ministry’s crisis centre stated in a statement that 14 of the ship’s 16 staff members had been retrieved and brought to Spain but that two were still missing. The state RIA news agency mentioned Moscow’s embassy in Spain as stating it was looking into the possibilities of the sinking and was in contact with the authorities in Spain.

Unverified visuals of the vessel heavily listing to its starboard side, with its projection much lower in the water than usual, were filmed by a passing vessel on Dec. 23 and posted on Russia’s life.ru news portal.

What role did Spain’s rescue services play in the event?

Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service stated it had acquired a distress call from the Ursa Major when it was located roughly 57 miles off the coast of Almeria. It stated it had reached a ship nearby which had said bad weather situations, a lifeboat in the water, and expressed the Ursa Major was tilting to the starboard side. Two ships and a helicopter had been dispatched to the scene, and the 14 surviving staff members were taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena. It mentioned the crew as stating that the ship had been holding empty receptacles as well as the two port cranes on deck.

The Previous Incident Involved the Sinking of a Russian Ship

In Jan 2024, Ukraine claimed that it utilised sea drones to plunge a small Russian warship in the Black Sea as Russian operatives alleged that a Russian military transport aircraft that collided was brought down by two U.S.-made Patriot missiles shot by Kyiv’s forces. Ukraine’s military intelligence body posted a video that displayed naval drones attacking the Russian missile-armed corvette Ivanovets.