Berliner Tageszeitung - Russian state owner says cargo ship blast was 'terrorist attack'

The Oboronlogistika company said it "thinks a targeted terrorist attack was committed on December 23, 2024, against the Ursa Major," it said in a statement cited by Russian news agencies, without indicating who may have been behind the act or why.

The ship sank in international waters off Spain in the early hours of Tuesday after having sent a distress call for help on Monday.

"Three consecutive explosions" took place on the ship before it began taking on water, added the company, which belongs to the Russian defence ministry.

Oboronlogistika did not say what evidence it had allowing it to conclude a terrorist attack sank the Ursa Major.

Russian foreign ministry's crisis unit said on Telegram on Tuesday that the ship sank "after an explosion in the engine room".

It added that out of the 16 Russian crew members on board, 14 had been rescued and taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena and two were missing.

An office of Russia's Investigative Committee, which carries out the major probes in the country, said Tuesday it had opened an investigation into possible maritime transport "security regulations violations".

The sinking of the Ursa Major came after a Russian tanker transporting fuel oil partially sunk in a strait between Moscow-annexed Crimea and southern Russia on December 16, causing a major oil spill.

The ship sent a distress call Monday morning from off the coast of southeastern Spain in bad weather, reporting it was listing and sailors had launched a lifeboat, Spain's sea rescue service said in a statement.

Spain sent out a helicopter and rescue boats and took the survivors to port, the service said.

A Russian warship then arrived and took charge of the rescue operation since the ship was between Spanish and Algerian waters, after which the Ursa Major sank overnight.

The Ursa Major is listed on MarineTraffic.com as a 124.7-metre (409-foot) long general cargo ship

It is owned by a subsidiary of Russia's Oboronlogistika, which belongs to the defence ministry and also provides civilian transport and logistics, the Russian foreign ministry said.

- US-sanctioned ship -

The Ursa Major was sailing from the Russian city of Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok in Russia's Far East.

Last week Oboronlogistika issued a press release with photos of the ship in port, saying it was to transport a particularly large and heavy load: cranes each weighing 380 tonnes and hatch covers for icebreakers each weighing 45 tonnes to Vladivostok.

It said this was part of "state" efforts to develop ports and the northern sea route via the Arctic.

Delivery by sea is best for such bulky equipment and the company has "great experience" in this, it said.

Agentstvo investigative news site wrote that the hatch covers were for a vaunted new nuclear icebreaker called Lider, designed to break thick ice on the northern sea route.

The United States in 2022 imposed sanctions on Oboronlogistika and ships including the Ursa Major for providing "transportation services... for the delivery of cargo to Russian-occupied Crimea".

This means any US organisation dealing with the company or its ships would risk sanctions.

Ukraine's GUR military intelligence said the Ursa Major was also used to supply Russian troops in Syria where Moscow has a naval base at Tartus.

A map on Oboronologistika's website shows the company among other things covers a route from Novorossiysk, in southern Russia, to Tartus, Russia's naval base in Syria.

There is uncertainty over the future of Russia's bases in Syria after the removal of Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad.

A. Bogdanow--BTZ