Owners of Russian ship sunk in Mediterranean say it was victim of ‘terrorist attack’

The Ursa Major cargo ship that sank in international waters between Spain and Algeria on Tuesday was the victim of a “terrorist attack”, the ship’s owners have told state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.

The company which owned the ship, Oboronlogistika, said that “three explosions occurred on the starboard side” towards the stern, after which the ship rolled heavily by up to 25 degrees and began to sink. Two of the crew were reported missing, while the 14 others were rescued and evacuated to the city of Cartagena in southeastern Spain.

Oboronlogistika is in turn 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 company insisted that the ship, which was built in 2009, was not overloaded, RIA Novosti continued.

The Ursa Major cargo ship left St. Petersburg on 11 December before sinking off the coast of Spain almost two weeks into its journey. Officially, it was transporting cargo to the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok, but independent news outlet Mediazona noted that the Ursa Major had been transporting cargo on the Syrian Express — the supply route for Russian troops in Syria — for years.

On Monday, Mediazona reported that the Ursa Major was one of five Russian cargo ships that had 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.