A Russian cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea

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A Russian cargo ship operated by the Defense Ministry’s logistics fleet sank in international waters between Spain and Algeria on Tuesday while traveling from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok.

The Ursa Major sank due to an explosion in its engine room. Two crew members were lost, while 14 others survived and were taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

At 142 meters long – roughly one and a half football fields – the Ursa Major was the largest ship operated by Obronlogistika, the Russian military’s logistics arm, and had a payload capacity of up to 1,200 tons.

Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (GRU) he said. The vessel previously transported cargo between Russia and Iran in the Caspian Sea before being assigned to routes connected to Syria.

The ship was transporting ice-making cranes and equipment to Vladivostok as part of a “state mission” to develop the Northern Sea Route, according to information on the Obronlogistica website.

Moscow has used the North Sea route from the Suez Canal to China as a fast alternative to Russia’s biggest trading partner, which has been reliant on Western sanctions in recent years.

The route is entirely in Arctic waters, but due to the warmer climate it has become more trafficked in the summer months.

A normal voyage from the northern Russian port of Primorsk to China via the Suez Canal takes 45 days, while the Northern Sea Route reduces this to 35 days.