Sunken Russian Cargo Ship Exposes Covert Nuclear Trade Network with North Korea
Moscow, Tuesday, 12 May 2026.
The December 2024 sinking of a Russian cargo ship off Spain revealed a covert nuclear trade with North Korea, prompting recent US nuclear sniffer flights over the wreckage.
A Covert Voyage Interrupted
On December 22, 2024, the Russian cargo vessel Ursa Major—also operating under the name Sparta 3—abruptly slowed while navigating the Mediterranean Sea, approximately 96 kilometers off the coast of Spain [1][2][3]. At 11:53 a.m. UTC on December 23, the ship issued a distress call after veering off course [3]. A catastrophic sequence of events followed as three explosions ripped through the vessel’s starboard side near the engine room [1][2][3]. The blasts claimed the lives of two mechanics, identified as Nikitin and Yakovlev, while 14 surviving crew members—representing 87.5 percent of the total personnel onboard—were safely evacuated to Cartagena, Spain, by local authorities [1][2][3].