From the Barents Observer, December 24:
Cargo vessel sinks with reactor hatches to Rossiya icebreaker
The sinking of the Russian cargo vessel Ursa Major in the Mediterranean is a big blow to the construction of Rosatomflot’s giant icebreaker which already is years behind schedule.
The state-owned ship sank in international waters between Spain and Algeria on December 23. 14 members of the crew were rescued, while two are still missing.
The Ursa Major belongs to Oborologistics LLC, a Defense Ministry structure aimed at transporting military and special purpose goods.
Up North, the vessel is known for sailing cargo to Russia’s Arctic petroleum projects as well as military infrastructure cargo from Murmansk to Franz Josef Land. The vessel has also been running weapons between Russia's Black Sea ports and Moscow's (former) navy stronghold in the Syrian port of Tartus.
This time, she was heading to Vladivostok with cargo from St. Petersburg, according to the tracking data posted on VesselFinder.
Among the cargo was two big cranes, photos of vessel shows. Newspaper Kommersant also confirms that Ursa Major had the two 45-tons hatches to cover the top of the two reactors for a new icebreaker.
Such hatches are used when maintenance work on the reactors are needed, like reloading of spent nuclear fuel.
The two heavy hatches can be seen on photos of the Ursa Major before sinking, covered under blue tarp in the rear end of the cargo deck. It is unclear if there are more gear to the nuclear-powered icebreaker onboard the sunken vessel....
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