A Russian ship that sank in 2024 was damaged by a torpedo of a type possessed only by NATO, Russia and Iran — CNN

This is according to a CNN investigation.

It should be recalled that the ‘Ursus Major’ sank on 23 December 2024 following a series of explosions. At the time, the area was designated as hazardous to navigation until the arrival of a Russian military vessel, which was to take charge of the rescue operation.

The shipping company stated that at the time of the accident, the ship was carrying “port cranes weighing 380 tonnes each, needed for the expansion of the terminal in Vladivostok, and 45-tonne hatch covers for new icebreakers”. Spanish authorities later stated that the captain of the Russian vessel had confirmed to investigators that there were two nuclear reactors on board, similar to those used in submarines. He did not, however, know whether there was nuclear fuel inside.

CNN noted that following the accident, over the past year, US reconnaissance aircraft designed to detect radioactive particles in the atmosphere had flown twice over the site where the vessel sank. A week after the shipwreck, its wreckage was also surveyed by a Russian reconnaissance vessel, which caused four further explosions, according to the Spanish investigation.

Initially, the vessel was escorted by two other Russian ships — the Ivan Gren and the Alexander Otrakovsky. Four hours after they had separated from the Ursa Major, it slowed down sharply but radioed Spanish rescuers to say that everything was fine.

However, approximately 24 hours later, the vessel veered off course and sent out a distress signal. The crew reported that there had been three explosions near the engine, killing two crew members.

The other 14 crew members were evacuated, and the ‘Ivan Gren’ and ‘Alexander Otrakovsky’ asked the Spanish rescuers to stay two nautical miles away from the ‘Ursa Major’, but soon called on them to return and inspect it. When the Spanish sailors reached the ship, they saw that the door to the engine room had been welded shut.

The “Ursa Mayor” was not due to sink, as the rescuers claimed, but a few hours later several more explosions were heard, which, according to CNN, sounded like underwater mines, and the ship sank.

CNN notes that the hole in the ship’s hull could have been caused by a Barracuda torpedo — a weapon used only by NATO countries, Russia and Iran. The publication adds that the sinking of the “Ursa Major” occurred just two months after North Korea provided Russia with its military personnel for the war against Ukraine.

Follow us on Telegram