Cartagena, Spain
A Russian cargo ship doubtless carrying two nuclear reactors for submarines, probably destined for North Korea, suffered a collection of explosions and sank in unexplained circumstances, about 60 miles off the coast of Spain, a NCS investigation has discovered.
The extraordinary destiny of the Ursa Major has been shrouded in secrecy because it sank on December 23, 2024. But it may mark a uncommon and high-stakes intervention by a Western army to stop Russia from sending an improve in nuclear know-how to a key ally, North Korea, NCS reporting suggests. The ship set sail simply two months after Kim Jong Un had despatched troops to help with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
A flurry of latest army exercise round its stays has deepened the thriller round its cargo and vacation spot. US nuclear “sniffer” plane have flown over the sunken ship twice in the previous 12 months, in accordance to public flight information. And its wreckage was additionally visited every week after it sank by a suspected Russian spy ship which set off 4 additional explosions, in accordance to a supply acquainted with the Spanish investigation into the incident.
The Spanish authorities has stated little, solely releasing a press release on February 23 after stress from opposition lawmakers. It confirmed that the ship’s Russian captain had advised Spanish investigators the Ursa Major was carrying “components for two nuclear reactors similar to those used in submarines,” and that he was uncertain in the event that they have been loaded with nuclear gas.
The collection of occasions which led the Ursa Major to sink to the underside of the Mediterranean Sea stays unclear. It may have concerned the usage of a uncommon kind of torpedo to breach the ship’s hull, in accordance to the Spanish investigation, as described by the supply acquainted with its contents. The incident occurred in the closing days weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency, when the struggle in Ukraine was peaking in Moscow’s favor, and there was a powerful US want not to straight escalate with Moscow.
The Ursa Major, also referred to as Sparta 3 and a veteran of Russia’s army marketing campaign in Syria – the place it was used to evacuate Russian gear – docked in the gas port of Ust-Luga in the Gulf of Finland on December 2, earlier than shifting to a container facility in St. Petersburg’s docks. The ship’s public manifest stated it was sure for Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East, when it departed on December 11, carrying two massive “manhole covers,” 129 empty transport containers, and two massive Liebherr cranes.
In October that 12 months, its proprietor, the state-linked Oboronlogistics, stated in a press release that their ships had been licensed to carry nuclear materials. Time-lapse video footage of the Ursa Major’s loading at Ust-Luga, analyzed by NCS, reveals containers being put contained in the hull, with a niche left beneath the place the “manhole covers” would later sit.
The ship moved down the French coast, earlier than Portuguese Navy plane and vessels tracked it by means of their waters, in accordance to a press release from the Navy. Two Russian army ships, the Ivan Gren and Aleksandr Otrakovsky, escorted the vessel, and on the morning of December 22, the Portuguese navy dropped the tail, the assertion added.
About 4 hours later, in Spanish waters, the ship slowed dramatically, prompting Spanish rescuers to radio and verify if it was in misery, in accordance to the Spanish authorities investigation, carried out by the native maritime authorities in the southern port of Cartagena. The ship’s crew replied that it was nice.
But about 24 hours later, the ship deviated sharply from its course and, at 11:53 a.m. UTC on December 23, issued an pressing name for assist, the investigation stated. It had suffered three explosions on its starboard facet, doubtless close to its engine room, that killed two crew members. This left the vessel itemizing and motionless, as social media video of the boat reveals.
The 14 surviving crew members evacuated on a lifeboat, and have been later picked up by the Salvamar Draco, a Spanish rescue boat. At 7:27 p.m., a Spanish army vessel arrived to help. But half an hour later, one of many Russian army ships that had escorted the Ursa Major, the Ivan Gren, ordered close by vessels to hold two nautical miles away, and later requested they return the rescued crew instantly.
The Spanish maritime rescue authorities insisted they need to conduct a rescue operation, and despatched a helicopter to the ship to verify for survivors. Footage seen by NCS reveals a rescuer attempting to enter the ship’s engine room, however discovering it sealed. The Spanish rescuer checks the dwelling quarters for survivors, and friends contained in the ships’ containers to see two crammed with trash, fishing nets and different gear, in accordance to the video.
The Ursa Major appeared secure and unlikely to sink quickly, in accordance to the supply acquainted with the investigation. But at 9:50 p.m. the Ivan Gren fired a collection of pink flares over the scene, and 4 explosions adopted. Four related seismic signatures have been registered at that actual time, in that approximate space, the sample of which resembled underwater mines or overground quarry blasts, the Spanish National Seismic Network advised NCS.
By 11.10 p.m., the Ursa Major was reported sunk, in accordance to the supply acquainted with the Spanish investigation.
The 14 Russian survivors have been introduced ashore in the port metropolis of Cartagena, the place they have been debriefed by Spanish police and investigators. The Russian captain was reluctant to communicate concerning the ship’s alleged contents, fearing for his security, in accordance to the assertion from the Spanish authorities to opposition lawmakers.
The captain got here “under pressure to clarify what he meant by ‘manhole covers,’” the gadgets initially listed on the ship’s manifest, the assertion added. “He finally confessed that they were the components of two nuclear reactors similar to those used by submarines. According to his testimony, and without being able to confirm it, they did not contain nuclear fuel.”
The supply acquainted with the investigation stated the Russian captain, named as Igor Anisimov, believed he can be diverted to the North Korean port of Rason to ship the 2 reactors. The Spanish investigation analyzes the unlikely selection of a round-the-world boat journey to ship a cargo of two cranes, 100 empty containers and two massive manhole covers, crusing from one Russian port to one other, regardless of the intensive rail community that spans the nation. The investigation suggests the cranes have been aboard to help supply of a delicate cargo on arrival in Rason.
The ship’s crew was returned to Russia days later. NCS has contacted a person bearing the title and likeness of the Russian captain. He denied involvement with the Ursa Major and stated he was retired. Four days after the sinking, the ship’s proprietor, Oboronlogistics, described it as a “targeted terrorist attack” and stated there have been three blasts. A 50cm by 50cm (20 inch by 20 inch) gap was discovered in the vessel’s hull, the broken steel going through inwards. “The deck of the vessel was strewn with shrapnel,” the corporate’s statement added.
A week later, in accordance to the supply acquainted with the investigation, the Russian army returned to the scene. The Yantar – formally a Russian analysis ship, however accused of espionage and disruption in NATO waters – sat over the Ursa Major’s wreckage for 5 days, the supply stated, earlier than 4 extra explosions have been detected, probably focusing on the stays of the ship on the seabed.
Maritime monitoring information from the commerce intelligence agency Kpler reveals the Yantar was in the world in January final 12 months, mooring in Egypt then Algeria, after which sending one place ping 20 km (12 miles) from the final place of the Ursa Major on January 15.
Some particulars of the Spanish investigation into the incident have been reported first by the native Cartagena newspaper La Verdad in December, sparking a collection of questions from Spanish opposition lawmakers. Lawmaker Juan Antonio Rojas Manrique advised NCS: “When someone doesn’t clearly and fully provide the information you request, you at least suspect they are hiding something… of course.”
In its assertion to lawmakers, the Spanish authorities stated the stays of the Ursa Major lay at a depth of about 2,500 meters (8,202 toes) and that restoration of its information recorder from that depth “is not possible without significant technical resources and risks.” Experts have questioned why the federal government considers it too dangerous, if no radioactive materials is concerned.
Rojas, a former service provider marine captain, additionally expressed skepticism, telling NCS: “Nowadays black boxes usually float to the surface with a locator so they can be found in any accident. I think someone has the black box. But we don’t know whether it’s Spain or if the Russians themselves have located it.”
The US army has additionally proven an curiosity in the world, twice sending a uncommon and complicated “nuke sniffer” plane, often known as a WC135-R and based mostly in Nebraska, over the scene of the incident for the reason that Ursa Major sank – as soon as on August 28 final 12 months and once more on February 6 this 12 months, in accordance to publicly accessible flight information.
A spokesman for the fifty fifth Wing base in Offutt, Nebraska, Kris Pierce, confirmed the plane’s position often “supports nuclear debris collection and analysis.” He added: “We cannot provide additional details regarding specific flight routing, mission findings, or any partner-related coordination.” Another WC135-R took a comparatively related flightpath 13 months earlier than the Ursa Major sank, suggesting curiosity in the world may have pre-dated the sinking, or be routine.
It is unclear if these two uncommon and dear flights – by plane often flown in secrecy and used to detect nuclear exercise in the Russian Arctic or round Iran – discovered any contamination traces from the Ursa Major’s wreckage. The Spanish authorities has given no indication that it fears radiation alongside its southern coast, a well-liked vacationer vacation spot, and no proof has emerged to that impact.
The declare that North Korea was the doubtless recipient of the 2 reactors allegedly aboard the ship comes after the secretive totalitarian regime launched photographs in December 2025 of its first nuclear submarine. The nonetheless photos, which characteristic chief Kim Jong Un grinning, solely present the sealed hull of the vessel, and no proof there’s a functioning nuclear reactor inside.
Mike Plunkett, senior naval platforms analyst for Janes, a protection intelligence firm, stated it was unlikely the reactors, if new, would have been shipped with gas in them. “If these reactors have come out of decommissioned submarines, then they will be radioactive, although obviously not as much as if they were fully loaded with fuel,” he stated.
Any determination by Russia to switch this know-how to North Korea is just not “undertaken lightly and it’s only something that’s ever done between very close allies,” he added, so if true “it’s a major move by Moscow.” He described any such improvement as “very troubling, potentially, particularly if you’re South Korea.”
The Spanish investigation, as described to NCS, notes the standing of North Korea as a Russian strategic ally, and the way Pyongyang has overtly urged Moscow to share its nuclear technical experience. It is probably going such calls for would have elevated after at the least 10,000 North Korean troops went to Russia in October 2024 to combat Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk area.
The investigation says it’s doubtless the reactors transported have been the VM-4SG mannequin, usually discovered in Russia’s Delta IV class ballistic missile nuclear-powered submarines, however supplies restricted proof to assist the declare.
NCS has obtained satellite tv for pc imagery from Vantor of the Ursa Major docked on the east finish of the port of Ust-Luga, in the Gulf of Finland, on December 4, 2024. Geolocated timelapse movies, posted to the account of the vessel’s house owners, Oboronlogistics, present it being loaded with containers and cranes there.
After the sinking, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported the Ursa Major was carrying port cranes and hatches designed to cowl the nuclear reactors of a brand new icebreaker being constructed in Vladivostok. The report didn’t point out the 2 white objects.
The Spanish investigation additionally tackles the preliminary affect that precipitated the Ursa Major to deviate off beam and record, in accordance to the supply acquainted with the report. The Russian captain advised investigators he didn’t hear any affect or blast on December 22, when his ship immediately slowed. It was solely 24 hours later that three explosions adopted close to the engine room, killing two crew members, named as Second Mechanic Nikitin and Mechanic Yakovlev, whose our bodies weren’t discovered.
The investigation proposes the 50cm by 50cm gap in the Ursa Major’s hull would doubtless have been made by a Barracuda supercavitating torpedo. Only the United States, just a few NATO allies, Russia and Iran are believed to have this type of high-speed torpedo, which fires air forward of the weapon to scale back the drag of the water. This allows them to attain very excessive speeds to pierce the hull of their goal, with some fashions, consequently, not utilizing an explosive cost to trigger injury.
The supply acquainted with the investigation stated it concluded the usage of such a tool would match with the dimensions of the outlet in the Ursa Major’s hull, and that it may have made a noiseless affect ensuing in the sudden slowing of the boat on December 22.
Other consultants consulted by NCS differed in their view. Plunkett, the Janes analyst, advised a limpet mine was a extra doubtless rationalization for the dimensions and site of the outlet. “It sounds like a shaped-charge explosive that was placed against the hull by somebody or something,” he stated.
The Russian house owners of the ship, Orobonlogistics, the Russian, Spanish and British militaries didn’t reply to a request for remark. The Pentagon declined to remark. Multiple Western safety and intelligence officers approached by NCS have described the incident as unusual or advised a few of the Spanish investigation’s conclusions have been far-fetched, however have not offered another, benign rationalization, for the preliminary blasts that hit the boat, or the acute Russian response to its plight.
The secrets and techniques of its cargo, and the way it got here to sink, relaxation on the ocean ground.