Russia's Foreign Ministry has confirmed the capsizing as an accident. An explosion is said to have occurred in the engine room on Monday evening, after which the vessel took in water and sank.
14 of the 16 crew members are reported to have been rescued and taken to Spanish Murcia, while the last two are missing. The incident occurred between Spain and Algeria, apparently when the vessel was en route to the Suez Canal. According to online services tracking maritime traffic, the Ursa Major departed from St. Petersburg on December 11 and was to round entire Asia with the final destination of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East by the end of January.
The ship's responsible parties have previously stated to the media that the cargo consisted of, among other things, cranes needed for the heavily strained port operations in Vladivostok.
Experts say, however, to, among others, The Moscow Times, that it is likely that the Ursa Major was intended to play some role in the Russian military evacuations currently taking place from bases in Syria, following the fall of the Assad regime.
It would not be a major detour for the ship's official route with a swing up to the large Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria.
