Russian Ship Ursa Major Sinks Off Spain After Explosions

A Russian cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea on December 23, 2024, about 60 miles off Spain's coast after three explosions struck its starboard side near the engine room, killing two crew members and prompting the rescue of 14 others by Spanish authorities.

The vessel, Ursa Major, had departed St. Petersburg on December 11, with a public manifest listing two large cranes, 129 empty containers and two oversized manhole covers. It was officially bound for Vladivostok in Russia's Far East. Spanish investigators questioned the route, noting Russia could have used its rail network for such limited cargo. The ship traveled under escort by two Russian military vessels, the Ivan Gren and Aleksandr Otrakovsky, which Portuguese naval aircraft tracked until contact was lost shortly before the incident.

The Ursa Major veered off course and issued a distress call at 11:53 a.m. UTC. A subsequent inspection revealed a 50-centimeter by 50-centimeter hole in the hull, with metal bent inward. Authorities are examining whether the damage resulted from an explosive device or a high-speed supercavitating torpedo, a weapon possessed by only a few nations including the United States, Russia,...