The Russian merchant ship ‘Ursa Major’, which sank on Monday 40 miles off Cartagena, in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, between Spain and Algeria, was part of a secret mission by Russian President Vladimir Putin, British newspaper ‘The Sun’ reported on Tuesday.
The purpose of the vessel’s journey is unclear, but Ukrainian and Spanish intelligence sources suggest it was heading to Syria to remove equipment from that country following the recent fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad , the paper added.
Fourteen crew members from the ship were evacuated to Cartagena following an explosion in the vessel’s engine room. The rescue operation was coordinated by Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service, according to a press release from the Government Delegation in the Region of Murcia.
The incident occurred at 12:15 p.m. when an emergency alert was received from the ship’s radio beacon. The Ursa Major was navigating in international waters, 62 nautical miles between the coast of Oran and Águilas, within a rescue zone under Spanish jurisdiction.
In line with international protocol, the nearby merchant vessel Oslo Carrier III was instructed to investigate. It confirmed the explosion in the engine room, prompting Maritime Rescue to initiate a full-scale operation.
The rescue involved the deployment of the Salvamar Draco and the Clara Campoamor, both part of the Maritime Rescue fleet. They were supported by the Spanish Navy patrol boat Serviola. Fourteen crew members were successfully evacuated, but two others remain missing.
A Russian Navy vessel also arrived at the scene and requested to assume control of the rescue operation, citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Under this agreement, a ship from the same nation as the distressed vessel can take charge of rescue efforts in non-jurisdictional waters. Control was subsequently transferred to the Russian Navy.
The evacuated crew members reached Cartagena at midnight, where they received medical attention from Red Cross personnel. After disembarking, the ship’s operating company took responsibility for the crew until arrangements were made for their repatriation via the Russian consulate and embassy.
The Ursa Major, a 15-year-old general cargo ship subject to U.S. sanctions, had departed St. Petersburg 12 days earlier and was en route to Vladivostok, with an expected arrival date of January 22. It was sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda at the time of the incident.
Ursa Major was built in 2009 and placed under sanction after Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine in 2022 because of the ship owner’s role in delivering cargo to the Russian military.
The ship sank at approximately 10:00 p.m. The Clara Campoamor remains in the area to monitor and manage any potential marine pollution resulting from the sinking.
