Russian ship that sank near Spain may have been carrying nuclear reactors to North Korea

"The Ursa Major, a 142 metre-long, Russian-flagged ship owned by the state-linked Oboronlogistics company, was purportedly sailing from St Petersburg to Vladivostok in the far east of Russia when it sank 62 nautical miles off the coast of Murcia a little before midnight on 23 December 2024. Eleven hours earlier, Spain's maritime rescue and security service, Sasemar, had dispatched a helicopter, a fast rescue boat, and a tugboat to the Ursa Major, which put out a distress call at 12.53pm. Other vessels in the area noted that the Russian vessel, which had slowed dramatically over the previous 24 hours, was listing badly and saw its crew abandoning ship."

"The crew members told rescuers that there had been three explosions in the ship's engine room. Spanish attempts to assist the Ursa Major were curtailed at 20.07 that evening when a Russian warship arrived, took over operations and ordered the two Sasemar boats to withdraw to a distance of two nautical miles. According to a Spanish government document that was released three months ago in response to parliamentary questions over the incident, the Russian warship then launched flares over the Ursa Major."

"A report in the Murcia newspaper La Verdad said the flares could have been deployed to blind the infrared channels of the intelligence satellites that were monitoring the incident. A CNN investigation into the sinking of the vessel noted that four similar seismic signatures the pattern of which resembled underwater mines or overground quarry blasts were heard just afters the flares were fired. By 23.20 that night, the Ursa Major had sunk and now lies at a depth of 2,500 metres."

A Russian-flagged cargo ship, the Ursa Major, sank off the south-east coast of Spain after distress calls and reports of three explosions in the engine room. The ship was sailing from St Petersburg to Vladivostok when it began listing badly and slowed dramatically over the prior 24 hours. Spanish rescue efforts were initially dispatched, but operations were curtailed after a Russian warship arrived and took over, ordering Spanish boats to withdraw. The warship launched flares over the vessel, and a report suggested the flares could blind infrared monitoring by intelligence satellites. Seismic signatures resembling mine or quarry blasts were reported after the flares. The ship sank by 23.20 and rests at about 2,500 metres depth, with two deaths feared and 14 crew rescued.

Read at www.theguardian.com