"A Russian cargo ship likely carrying two nuclear reactors for submarines, possibly destined for North Korea, suffered a series of explosions and sank in unexplained circumstances, about 60 miles off the coast of Spain, a CNN investigation has found." https://t.co/apC6jrDztJ
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 12, 2026
Quote:
The Ursa Major, also known as Sparta 3 and a veteran of Russia's military campaign in Syria where it was used to evacuate Russian equipment docked in the fuel port of Ust-Luga in the Gulf of Finland on December 2, before moving to a container facility in St. Petersburg's docks. The ship's public manifest said it was bound for Vladivostok, in Russia's Far East, when it departed on December 11, carrying two large "manhole covers," 129 empty shipping containers, and two large Liebherr cranes.
In October that year, its owner, the state-linked Oboronlogistics, said in a statement that their ships had been licensed to carry nuclear material. Time-lapse video footage of the Ursa Major's loading at Ust-Luga, analyzed by CNN, shows containers being put inside the hull, with a gap left below where the "manhole covers" would later sit.
The ship moved down the French coast, before Portuguese Navy aircraft and vessels tracked it through their waters, according to a statement from the Navy. Two Russian military ships, the Ivan Gren and Aleksandr Otrakovsky, escorted the vessel, and on the morning of December 22, the Portuguese navy dropped the tail, the statement added.
About four hours later, in Spanish waters, the ship slowed dramatically, prompting Spanish rescuers to radio and check if it was in distress, according to the Spanish government investigation, carried out by the local maritime authorities in the southern port of Cartagena. The ship's crew replied that it was fine.
But about 24 hours later, the ship deviated sharply from its course and, at 11:53 a.m. UTC on December 23, issued an urgent call for help, the investigation said. It had suffered three explosions on its starboard side, likely near its engine room, that killed two crew members. This left the vessel listing and immobile, as social media video of the boat shows.
