MOSCOW — The operator of a cargo vessel that sank in the Mediterranean Sea, located between Spain and Algeria, reported on Thursday that the ship was struck by a series of explosions that are being labeled as sabotage.
Oboronlogistika, a state-owned company responsible for the Ursa Major freighter, announced that the ship was devastated by three intense explosions occurring just above the water line, which it characterized as a “terrorist attack” leading to its sinking.
In a statement released through the state news agency RIA Novosti, the company indicated that the blasts created a significant hole in the ship’s starboard side, causing the engine room to fill with thick smoke and obstructing the crew’s efforts to reach it. Furthermore, they noted that the destruction of the engine room prevented the activation of pumps essential for keeping the vessel afloat.
The assertions made by the company have yet to be verified through independent sources.
Fourteen crew members from the Ursa Major were successfully rescued from a lifeboat, arriving in Spain unharmed, while two others are still unaccounted for.
According to the company, the vessel, recognized as one of the largest cargo ships in the Russian fleet, was en route from St. Petersburg and was transporting two heavy cranes alongside additional equipment to the port of Vladivostok, situated on Russia’s eastern coastline.
Oboronlogistika, a logistics and shipping company formed under Russia’s defense ministry, has faced U.S. and EU sanctions due to its links with the military sector in Russia.
Amid shifting climate patterns that have increased the year-round navigability of the Northern Sea Route through Russia’s Arctic, many vessels still opt for the southern route during the winter months.
