[NYP] The mystery of how a Russian cargo ship sank deepened after it was revealed that the vessel suffered multiple explosions while allegedly carrying two nuclear reactors believed to be bound for North Korea, according to a new report.
The prevailing theory suggests that the West might have been involved in the incident that saw the Ursa Major sink 60 miles off the coast of Spain on Dec. 23, 2024, CNN reported.
The ship, also known as the Sparta 3, appeared to have been hit by a rare type of torpedo that breached the ship’s hull and forced it to sink to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, according to Spanish investigators.
The investigation suggested that the only thing that could have breached the ship was the Barracuda supercavitating torpedo, a powerful weapon of which only the US, a few NATO countries, Russia and Iran are believed to be in possession.
In the aftermath of the incident, the ship’s Russian captain allegedly told Spanish investigators that Ursa Major was hauling “components for two nuclear reactors similar to those used in submarines,” with the sailor unsure if the reactors were loaded with atomic fuel, CNN reported.
Uh huh. Unsure?
The captain, identified as Igor Anisimov, reportedly told investigators that he believed the cargo would be diverted to the North Korean port of Rason to deliver the reactors.
The ship, which has a license to carry atomic materials, departed Russia on Dec. 11, 2024, with its public manifest making no mention of nuclear reactors or materials on board, only empty shipping containers, two large cranes and two large “manhole covers.”
The voyage came just two months after North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un committed to sending thousands of soldiers to help Russia retake its Kursk region following Ukraine’s surprise counter-invasion, which served as a humiliating blow to Moscow strongman Vladimir Putin.
It has long been believed that Russia had provided technical expertise to North Korea as part of an exchange for the soldiers, with Kim notably eager for Pyongyang to have its own nuclear submarine.
Europe had been tracking Ursa Major’s movements, with the Portuguese navy deploying aircraft to locate the ship and its military escort vessels in the Mediterranean.
THE TIMING THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING
The context of when the Ursa Major departed Russia explains why investigators believe the reactor transfer was happening and why the international community may have decided to stop it.
The ship departed Russia shortly after Kim Jong Un sent North Korean troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, a military exchange that brought approximately 10,000 or more North Korean soldiers to the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
Those troops were equipped with North Korean ballistic missiles that had already been used against Ukrainian cities.
The missiles had undergone what amounted to live combat testing in Ukraine, giving North Korea real performance data on how US-made and Western interceptor systems responded to their weapons.
North Korea, in other words, had provided Russia with something extremely valuable: military manpower and live-fire weapons testing that yielded intelligence about American defense systems.
The reactor transfer was likely the payment. Russia would upgrade North Korea’s submarine nuclear capabilities in exchange for troops and missiles.
Experts described the arrangement to CNN as a “quid pro quo,” Russia giving Kim Jong Un the submarine modernization his navy had been seeking, while Kim gave Putin soldiers to throw at Ukrainian positions and ballistic missiles whose performance data was now informing future North Korean weapons development.
The reactor transfer, if completed, would have represented one of the most significant nuclear proliferation events in recent decades, a state with advanced nuclear submarine technology passing it to a rogue nuclear state with a demonstrated willingness to use military force and a record of pursuing nuclear capabilities specifically to hold the United States at risk.
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