| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Ursa Major (since 2021) |
| Owner | Oboronlogistika |
| Port of registry |
|
| Ordered | 15 September 2008 |
| Builder | Peene-Werft (Wolgast, Germany) |
| Yard number | 251 |
| Laid down | 28 January 2009 |
| Launched | 28 October 2009 |
| Completed | 14 December 2009 |
| Identification | |
| Fate | Sank, 23 December 2024 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Heavy-lift ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 16,335 t (16,077 long tons) |
| Length | 142.47 m (467.4 ft) |
| Beam | 23.20 m (76.1 ft) |
| Draught | 7.20 m (23.6 ft) |
| Ice class | 1A |
| Installed power | MAN B&W 16V32/40 (8,000 kW) |
| Propulsion | Single screw; controllable pitch propeller |
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Crew | 16 |
MV Ursa Major was a heavy-lift ship. She was built in Germany in 2009 as Scan Britania. She was renamed Hyundai Britania in 2010; Eit Palmina in 2011; Sparta III in 2017; and Ursa Major in 2021. In 2024 she sank in the western Mediterranean, with the loss of two of her 16 crew.
Building and description
The ship was built by Peene-Werft in Wolgast, Germany, with the forward and cargo sections delivered by Berne-based Rolandwerft [de]. The ship was laid down on 28 January, launched on 28 October, and delivered on 14 December 2009. Her length overall was 142.47 metres (467.4 ft), beam 23.20 metres (76.1 ft), and draught 7.2 metres (24 ft). Two heavy cranes were mounted on her port side. Her superstructure and bridge were on her forecastle, leaving her deck as clear as possible for bulky cargo, which then could not obstruct the forward view from her bridge.
The ship was propelled by a single 8,000-kilowatt (11,000 hp) 16-cylinder MAN B&W 16V32/40 medium-speed diesel engine manufactured by STX Corporation under license in South Korea. The engine was driving a single controllable pitch propeller giving the ship a service speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) and a maximum speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).
Names and registries
The ship's IMO number was 9538892, and her MMSI number was 273396130. When completed as Scan Britania in December 2009, she was registered in the Isle of Man, but later that month her registration was transferred to Germany. In February 2010 she was renamed Hyundai Britania. In August 2011, the ship was renamed Eit Palmina, and her registration was transferred to Antigua and Barbuda. In February 2017 she was renamed Sparta III, and her registration was transferred to Belize. In April 2017 her registration was transferred to Russia, and in October 2021 she was renamed Ursa Major. By 2019 the Russian military logistics company Oboronlogistika was managing her, and by 2024 she was registered in Novorossiysk. Oboronlogistika said the ship was its flagship. Her direct owner and operator was a company called SK-Yug.
Russian career
In September 2019, as Sparta III, the ship brought a cargo from China to Europe via the Northern Sea Route. This was 27 percent shorter than sailing around Asia to the south; which made her voyage ten days shorter. It avoided the Suez Canal with its attendant toll, and the risk of piracy in parts of the Indian Ocean. Oboronlogistika claimed that the voyage saved € 300,000. At the time, the Northern Sea Route was usable from August to October.
In late 2020, Sparta III became beset in ice near Mys Sopochnaya Karga in the Yenisey river estuary in the Russian Arctic. The 1979–built icebreaking anchor handling tug supply vessel Kigoriak chartered to escort the vessel was unable to free it, forcing Oboronlogistika to ask FSUE Atomflot to divert one of its nuclear-powered icebreakers operating in the Gulf of Ob to free both vessels. Rosatom deployed the nuclear-powered Vaygach to break a channel and the diesel-electric Admiral Makarov to tow Sparta III to the ice edge where the vessel, having damaged its steering gear, was handed over to the ice-strengthened salvage ship Spasatel Karev which towed it to Arkhangelsk.
Oboronlogistika is a Russian state corporation handling marine military logistics. For years, the ship carried materiél on Russia's "Syrian Express" supply route to Tartus naval base in Syria. The other ship named Sparta was also involved in Syrian Express. Some of that materiél was destined for Khmeimim Air Base. In 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US Government sanctioned the ship.
Loss
On 11 December 2024, Ursa Major left St Petersburg for Vladivostok. As it was winter, she was to sail via the Suez Canal. Her cargo included two 45-ton hatches for a Project 10510 icebreaker that is currently being built, and two Liebherr 420 mobile cranes to be installed in the Port of Vladivostok.
By 22 December, when the ship was in international waters between Spain and Algeria, satellite tracking showed that her speed suddenly dropped to 1 knot (2 km/h). According to TASS, there was an explosion in her engine room. By 23 December, she was drifting south at 1 knot. Photographs published online showed her down by her stern (with her forward bridge and accommodation raised up) and listing to starboard.
Ursa Major sank on the night of 23–24 December at position 36°43′34″N 1°6′44″W / 36.72611°N 1.11222°W / 36.72611; -1.11222, between Águilas in Spain and Oran in Algeria. Spanish fishing vessels; the Spanish patrol boat Serviola; and the rescue ship Clara Campoamor rescued 14 members of her crew, and landed them at Cartagena. Two other crew members were reported to be missing.
Some reports claimed that Ursa Major was headed for Tartus. However, this is inconsistent with the fact that she was carrying vital cargo destined for Vladivostok.
References
- ^ "Ursa Major (9538892)". Sea-web. S&P Global. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- ^ "Ursa Major – IMO 9538892". Ship Spotting. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- ^ "Ursa Major". VesselFinder. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- "Vessel Ursa Major IMO: 9538892, General Cargo". Shipinfo. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- Kirby, Paul (24 December 2024). "Russian ship under US sanctions sinks after engine room blast". BBC News. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- ^ "МИД РФ подтвердил крушение сухогруза Ursa Major в Средиземном море" (in Russian). TASS. 24 December 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- "Oboronlogistics' largest containership Sparta III completed the delivery of cargo via the Northern sea route". VesselFinder. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- "Безопасности экипажа и судна "Спарта III" ничего не угрожает - Оборонлогистика" (in Russian). PortNews. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- "07.01.21: Росатомфлот вывел заблокированное судно из Енисейского залива". Rosatomflot (in Russian). 7 January 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- "Russian ship possibly heading to Syria for base evacuation sinks off Spanish coast". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- ^ Litnarovych, Vlad (24 December 2024). "Russian Cargo Ship Ursa Major Linked to Syrian Military Supplies Sinks Near Spain". United24 Media. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- ^ Osborn, Andrew; Stolyarov, Gleb (24 December 2024). "Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after explosion, Russian Foreign Ministry says". Reuters. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- "Explosion on the Russian merchant ship 'Ursa Major': 14 crew members are transferred to Cartagena". El Español. 24 December 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- "Russian Vessel Ursa Major Sinks Following Engine Explosion Near Spain: Real or Ukrainian Disinformation?". Defense Mirror. 24 December 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
External link
- "Ursa Major – IMO 9538892". Ship Spotting. – includes numerous photographs of the ship at different stages of her career: as Hyundai Britania; Eit Palmina; Sparta III; and Ursa Major
2025