Back when it sank, it was said that it was carrying cranes needed at the Vladivostok port for expanding the Russia’s ability to export over the sea to southeastern Asia.
Might have been true as well, but it’s interesting that this kind of important piece of information managed to go missing for so long because it looked like there was already an answer to why the ship was on the way. And also, to why it was sunk.
Spanish investigators have confirmed that the Russian cargo vessel Ursa Major, which sank off the coast of Cartagena in December 2024, was carrying undeclared nuclear reactor components likely bound for North Korea.
According to La Verdad, the ship was part of Russia’s shadow fleet and took an unusual route from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok through the Mediterranean.
Though the ship’s manifest listed only empty containers and port equipment, aerial images revealed two large, undeclared containers at the stern. Authorities later identified them as housings for VM-4SG nuclear reactors.
What does a housing for a nuclear reactor look like?
roughly tube with a very thick wall and spherical ending (it has to survive 100+ atm under high temperature and neutron irradiation - weakens everything over time)
Like a giant pressure cooker
This article includes a picture of the ship that it claims shows the parts in question. However the picture isn’t the greatest resolution, and they also state the cargo was wrapped in tarps. So take what you will…
Sink them all.
“Ghost Ships” are very high risk, high reward operations. You can’t say anything when they get sunk because they never were supposed to have existed. Makes them wonderful targets.
