Sanctioned Russian Ship Sinks in the Mediterranean Sea

Moscow reports that a Russian cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea due to an explosion in its engine room. A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry released on Tuesday, December 25, indicated that 14 crew members were rescued, but two others are still missing. The statement noted that Spanish Coast Guard rescue units saved the 14 crew members and transferred them to the port of Cartagena in southern Spain, and the search for the two missing crew members continues. The cause of the explosion in the engine room of the vessel has not been disclosed. The ship, named 'Ursa Major', was owned by a company called 'Oboron Logistics', which is a subsidiary of the Russian Ministry of Defense's construction and facilities sector. This company had previously stated that the 'Ursa Major' was carrying two port cranes and its destination was the port of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East. The Russian news agency RIA reported, citing the Russian embassy in Spain, that an investigation into the causes of the incident has begun. 'SK-Yug', the main owner of the vessel and the company 'Oboron Logistics' that operated it, declined to comment on the incident. Both the Russian companies and the 'Ursa Major' were sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 due to their connections with the Russian armed forces. The Spanish Coast Guard reported that on Monday, they received a distress signal from the 'Ursa Major', which was approximately 95 kilometers off the southeastern coast of Spain at the time. Two vessels and a helicopter from the Spanish Coast Guard were dispatched to the area and were able to locate the 14 crew members who were in a life raft. The Spanish Coast Guard added that shortly after, a Russian military ship arrived at the scene and took over the rescue operation. Vessel traffic information indicates that this ship left the port of St. Petersburg on December 12 and its last electronic signal was recorded around 10 PM on Monday in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria. This vessel, which previously had other names, including 'Sparta-3', typically traveled between St. Petersburg and the port of Tartus in Syria, one of Russia's military bases. However, international shipping documents indicated that its recent destination was Vladivostok. In a separate incident, a unit of the Ukrainian military's counterintelligence, which tracks Russian vessels, announced on Monday that another Russian ship named 'Sparta' experienced a technical failure in Portuguese territorial waters. This agency later reported on its Telegram channel that the technical issue had been resolved and the vessel continued its journey towards Syria to transport military equipment from Russian bases following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. International news agencies cannot independently verify the Ukrainian military's claims regarding the destination and mission of the Russian vessel 'Sparta'.