Russian cargo ship sunk off Spain carried nuclear reactors for North Korea, probe reveals

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A Russian cargo ship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria in December 2024 following explosions in its engine room was carrying components for two submarine nuclear reactors likely destined for North Korea, an investigation has revealed.

The Ursa Major sank on 23 December with 16 crew members on board. Fourteen were rescued and brought to Spain, while two crew members — second engineer Nikitin and engineer Yakovlev — remain missing and are presumed dead.

Spanish investigators now believe the vessel may have been deliberately sunk by a Western military using a rare supercavitating torpedo to prevent Russia from delivering advanced nuclear technology to North Korea, according to details of the Spanish probe obtained by CNN.

The Russian Foreign Ministry initially said the vessel sank after an “explosion in the engine room” but provided no explanation for the blast.

However, the ship’s Russian captain later told investigators that items declared on the ship’s manifest as “non-dangerous merchandise” — two large hatch covers — were actually components for two nuclear reactors similar to those used in submarines.

The captain also revealed that he thought the ship would eventually be diverted to the North Korean port of Rason to deliver the reactors, according to a source familiar with the investigation. He did not further discuss the cargo due to fears for his safety.

The vessel, previously known as Sparta III, was constructed in 2009. While its official manifest stated it was travelling from St Petersburg to Vladivostok carrying two large cranes, 129 empty containers and hatch covers, investigators have questioned why Moscow would send such cargo by sea around the world rather than using the country’s extensive rail network.

The investigation suggests the cranes were on board to assist with the delivery of the sensitive nuclear cargo upon arrival in North Korea.

Some details of the Spanish investigation into the incident were initially published by the Murcian local newspaper La Verdad in December 2024.

Suspicious circumstances and Russian interference

The ship was operated by Oboronlogistika, a company owned by the Russian Ministry of Defence. Just two months before the sinking, Oboronlogistika announced its ships had been licensed to carry nuclear material.

The vessel had been under US and UK sanctions since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, due to its owner’s role in supplying cargo to the Kremlin’s military.

The sinking occurred just two months after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent some 10,000 troops to support Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — an exchange that investigators believe may have prompted the Kremlin to transfer nuclear technology to Pyongyang in return.

Russia and North Korea also have a deal in place since late 2024 pledging mutual military aid.

A nuclear-powered submarine was one item on a wish list of sophisticated weaponry that Kim announced during a political conference in 2021. Other weapons included solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, spy satellites and multi-warhead missiles.

North Korea released photographs in December 2025 of Kim’s visit showing what appeared to be a largely completed nuclear-powered submarine hull, coated with what was likely anti-corrosion paint, under construction in an assembly hall.

Pyongyang has indicated it plans to arm the submarine with nuclear weapons, calling it a “strategic guided missile submarine” or a “strategic nuclear attack submarine”.

While questions persisted about whether North Korea, a heavily sanctioned country, could obtain resources and technology to build nuclear-powered submarines, experts initially believed it was more likely Pyongyang designed its own reactor with Moscow’s expertise, rather than acquiring a decommissioned Russian one.

In the months following the sinking, significant military activity has been detected around the wreck site, which lies at a depth of approximately 2,500 meters.

One week after the incident, Russian spy vessel Yantar — later detected near UK waters in early 2025, prompting stern warnings from the British government — spent five days positioned over the Ursa Major wreckage.

Meanwhile, US nuclear “sniffer” aircraft have flown over the sunken ship twice in the past year, according to public flight data.

Spanish authorities have stated that recovery of the ship’s data recorder was impossible without incurring major costs and risks. Experts have questioned why this would be the case if no radioactive material were involved.

Russian claims and Syria connection

Russia’s state-linked operator Oboronlogistika claimed the ship was “embarking on another voyage to the Far East carrying significant project cargo as part of state tasks aimed at developing port infrastructure and the Northern Sea Route.”

However, Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) had previously reported that the Ursa Major was actually headed to Syria to assist with evacuating Russian military equipment from the country’s bases at Tartus and Khmeimim, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The Ursa Major had been used for years as part of Russia’s “Syrian Express” — a supply route transporting military equipment and weapons to Russian forces in Syria.

A UK sanctions listing states that ships belonging to Oboronlogistika have been used to transport missiles from Syria to the Black Sea.

The Spanish probe concluded that indications the ship would go to Syria were likely a distraction from the trip’s true purpose.

Following pressure from opposition lawmakers, the Spanish government issued only a brief statement in February on the investigation,confirming the captain’s testimony about the components for two nuclear reactors similar to those used in submarines.

South Korean intelligence reported in September 2025 that Moscow had already handed Pyongyang one nuclear reactor, and multiple South Korean government officials told domestic media that the Kremlin was suspected of sending two to three nuclear submarine propulsion modules to North Korea in the first half of 2025.