Russian cargo ship reportedly heading for Syria sinks off Spanish coast

The Russian cargo ship Ursa Major has sunk in international waters between Spain and Algeria, Spanish news outlet El Español reported on Tuesday.

An explosion occurred in the engine room on Monday, causing the ship to roll, El Español wrote, adding that two of the crew were reported missing, while 14 others were rescued and evacuated to the city of Cartagena in southeastern Spain after the ship issued a distress signal. El Español did not report what had caused the explosion.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that the Ursa Major had sunk, adding that it was monitoring the situation alongside Russia’s Transport Ministry and overseas missions.

Officially, the Ursa Major was transporting cargo from St. Petersburg to the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok along the Northern Sea Route, having left St. Petersburg on 11 December. However, it is unclear why the ship ended up in the Mediterranean Sea.

On Monday, independent news outlet Mediazona reported that the Ursa Major was one of five Russian cargo ships that entered the Mediterranean, which analysts assumed were evacuating equipment and personnel from Russia’s Syrian bases at Tartous and Khmeimim after the sudden collapse of the dictatorial regime of Bashar al-Assad earlier this month.

Mediazona also noted that the Ursa Major had been transporting cargo on the Syrian Express — the supply route for Russian troops in Syria — for years.

Open source data shows that the Ursa Major is operated by Oboronlogistika, a company owned by the Russian Defence Ministry. Both Oboronlogistika and the ship were placed under sanctions by the US in 2022 for their ties to Russia’s military, The Guardian reported.