Yesterday, we wrote about the “Syria Express,” a convoy of Russian ships headed to Tartus, likely to support the withdrawal of Russian equipment from Syria.
The convoy consists of several vessels, including civilian ships (used by the Russian Ministry of Defense) such as the Sparta and the Ursa Major, along with two military transport ships, the Ivan Gren and the Aleksandr Otrakovskiy. The Ursa Major was the first to enter the Mediterranean, as the Sparta had encountered issues in the Atlantic and lagged behind.
Since yesterday morning, the Ursa Major has significantly reduced its speed, and starting last night (around 3 AM UTC), it began drifting southward at a speed of 1 knot. Initially, it was thought that the Russian ship had slowed down to wait for the rest of the convoy. However, its movements seemed more indicative of a vessel adrift.
Further doubts arose when three Spanish maritime rescue units (Clara Campoamor, Salvamar Draco, and another unidentified vessel) left their respective ports and headed toward the Ursa Major. Currently, the rescue ships are less than one nautical mile from the Russian vessel.
While we cannot confirm whether the Ursa Major is experiencing technical difficulties, the activity surrounding the ship strongly suggests that it might be in trouble. However, the extent of the problem remains unclear at this time.
Update: around 8:30 PM, the Spanish Navy patrol vessel Serviola (P-71) also arrived in the area.
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