Unlock the Editor’s Digest without spending a dime
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly publication.
A Russian cargo ship operated by the Ministry of Defence’s logistics fleet sank on Tuesday in worldwide waters between Spain and Algeria whereas en route from St Petersburg to Vladivostok.
The vessel, known as Ursa Main, sank following an explosion in its engine room. Two crew members stay lacking, whereas 14 others had been rescued and brought to the Spanish port of Cartagena, Russia’s international ministry stated.
At 142 metres lengthy, Ursa Main was the biggest ship operated by Oboronlogistika, a logistics arm of the Russian army, and had a cargo capability of 1,200 tonnes.
In-built 2009, the Ursa Main had been positioned below US sanctions in 2022 after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine resulting from its proprietor’s involvement in delivering cargo to the Russian army.
Oboronlogistika was concerned within the “unlawful seizure and occupation of Crimea since 2014” and the “transport of weapons” for the Russian authorities, based on the US State Division.
The Russian defence ministry’s Predominant Intelligence Directorate stated the ship had beforehand transported cargo between Russia and Iran within the Caspian Sea earlier than being reassigned to routes linked to Syria.
The vessel was transporting cranes and gear for icebreakers to Vladivostok as a part of a “state mission” to develop the Northern Sea Route, based on data on Oboronlogistika’s web site.
Moscow has lately championed the Northern Sea Route as a sooner various to the Suez Canal for transport to China, Russia’s largest buying and selling associate, on which it has more and more relied within the face of western sanctions.
The route lies totally inside Arctic waters however has turn out to be extra navigable throughout summer time months as a result of warming local weather.
A typical journey from the northern Russian port of Primorsk to China through the Suez Canal takes 45 days, whereas the Northern Sea Route reduces this to 35 days.
