"Defense Logistics": A ship from Norway did not rescue the crew of the "Ursa Major."

"As the rescue boat approached, the Norwegian vessel (part of whose crew spoke Russian) refused to accept the crew members of 'Ursa Major,' citing some sort of prohibition," — quotes the press service of the company, as reported by RIA Novosti.

Ultimately, the crew of the Russian freighter was rescued by Spanish sailors from the vessel "Salvamar Drago" and brought to the port of Cartagena.

The owning company of "Oslo Carrier 3" stated that the crew did not participate in the rescue operation following a signal from the port of Cartagena. It is claimed that the Norwegian vessel was informed about the Spaniards heading to rescue the Russian crew.

The Russian freighter sank on December 23 shortly after passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, in international waters several dozen miles from the coasts of Algeria and Spain. Out of the 16 crew members on board, 14 were rescued, while two are still missing.

In "Oboronlogistika," it was stated that a "terrorist attack" was carried out against "Ursa Major." Crew members reportedly indicated that three explosions occurred on the starboard side near the stern of the freighter, after which the vessel quickly began to list and subsequently sank.

Earlier, Spanish media and the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that an explosion took place in the engine room of the vessel.

"Oboronlogistika" also asserted that the ship was not overloaded and was en route from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok with a project cargo weighing 806 tons.

• The freighter "Ursa Major" ("Big Dipper") had previously participated in supplying the Russian group in Syria and, according to one version, was heading to Syria, where the pro-Kremlin regime of Bashar Assad was overthrown, to evacuate the Russian military base. This version is supported by the fact that Russia reportedly also sent the freighter "Sparta" (also owned by "Oboronlogistika") and three large landing ships to Syria.
• Analyst Alexander Oliver, after studying the cargo data on board "Ursa Major," concluded that the vessel was indeed headed to Vladivostok. Photos and videos reveal that the sunken freighter was carrying two port cranes and 45-ton hatch covers for the construction of nuclear icebreakers. This was also reported earlier by "Oboronlogistika." According to the analyst, the loss of this cargo will be a significant blow to the port of Vladivostok and the icebreaker construction program.

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