A Russian cargo ship that sank off Spain in late 2024 may have been carrying nuclear submarine reactor components bound for North Korea, CNN reported on Tuesday, raising questions about the depth of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The Ursa Major, a Russian freighter long used to transport military equipment to Russian bases in Syria, sank in the Mediterranean in December after a series of explosions. The ship had officially been carrying cranes and manhole covers to Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East. But CNN reported that satellite images, Spanish investigators and crew testimony pointed to a far more sensitive cargo: two nuclear reactors intended for submarine propulsion.
The Russian cargo ship Ursa Major lists before sinking in the Mediterranean off Spain in December 2024
(Video: Reuters)
The ship left St. Petersburg in December 2024, two months after North Korea sent thousands of troops to help Russia repel Ukrainian forces who had entered Russia’s Kursk region. It loaded cargo in St. Petersburg and at Ust-Luga, in the Gulf of Finland, before heading west on Dec. 11 toward the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, accompanied by Russian naval vessels.
On Dec. 22, the ship slowed abruptly off Spain. The next day, three explosions shook the vessel. Spanish rescue teams moved in and evacuated 14 crew members, including the captain, to Cartagena. Two crew members were reported missing. A Russian warship escorting the freighter, the Ivan Gren, ordered rescuers to keep their distance, according to the report.
Four more underwater explosions were later recorded. One source involved in the investigation told CNN that Russian forces may have destroyed the ship to prevent its cargo from falling into Western hands.
Spanish investigators are examining whether the Ursa Major was hit by a Barracuda torpedo, a high-speed weapon held by the United States and a small number of NATO countries, CNN reported. A precise 50-centimeter hole in the hull suggested a targeted strike intended to disable the ship without triggering a nuclear incident, according to the report.
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Crew members from the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major are evacuated after the vessel was damaged off Spain in December 2024
Since the sinking, the area has drawn international attention. U.S. aircraft designed to detect radioactive material have flown over the site at least twice, while the Russian intelligence ship Yantar spent days above the wreckage, which lies about 2.5 kilometers below the surface.
The ship’s captain, Igor Anisimov, reportedly told investigators the cargo included reactor components used in Russian ballistic missile submarines. Experts said such a transfer, if confirmed, would show Russia’s willingness to share highly sensitive nuclear technology with North Korea.
Had the reactors reached North Korea’s port of Rason, near the Russian border, they could have advanced Kim Jong Un’s efforts to build a nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching weapons from the sea, posing a direct threat to the United States and South Korea.
The Pentagon has not commented publicly on the report. Russia has claimed the ship was targeted in a terrorist attack. The full contents of the Ursa Major’s cargo remain unconfirmed, and its secrets may now lie on the floor of the Mediterranean, south of Spain.