Oslo Bulk Refutes Russia’s Claims It Refused Aid to Crew of Ursa Major

Russian authorities continue to present a wide range of claims associated with the sinking of the cargo ship Ursa Major off Spain at the beginning of the week. After saying that it was an act of terrorism, the shipowner and Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev today extended the accusations to a Norwegian ship linking it to a larger plot by the West and the continuing “Russophobia.”

Oboronlogistics which operated the Ursa Major for the Russian government claimed that there were three explosions aboard the vessel calling them terrorism. Now it extended its accusations to the Norwegian-flagged cargo ship Oslo Carrier 3, which they said was nearby but refused to take the crew aboard. The company claimed the Norwegian ship had Russians in its crew and had some type of ban which caused it to refuse to take the crew aboard. They called it “a gross violation” of international conventions.

Medvedev who is a frequent critic of the West then wrote on his Telegram social media account, “Why so harshly? How else, given such facts? The Norwegian-flagged Oslo Carrier 3 refused to take on board the Russian sailors from the Ursa Major who were drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Do we need any more explanation? This cannot be forgiven!”

A Kremlin spokesperson tempered it slightly, saying to Reuters “if indeed no assistance was rendered” it was contrary to maritime laws. Dmitry Peskov told Reuters the actions would be “an outrageous case that deserves total condemnation.”

Oslo Bulk which operates the vessel refuted the Russian claims and supported it with pictures from the rescue operation. The company said the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Center in Cartagena, Spain was responsible for the operation. They said the rescue center instructed the Oslo Carrier 3 not to take the survivors from the Ursa Major aboard from the lifeboat as its rescue vessel was on its way to the scene.

Oslo Bulk says and presented photos showing as much, that the lifeboat with the 14 survivors from the Ursa Major was secured alongside the Oslo Carrier 3. It facilitated the transfer of the crew to the Salvamento Marítimo vessel which transferred the survivors to shore.

Further, the company says the crew was in no immediate danger once it had boarded the lifeboat. They point out that the weather was good at the time and none of the crewmembers were injured.

Salvamento Marítimo told the Spanish press that it dispatched two rescue boats and a helicopter when the distress call was received. The ship sank 67 miles from the Spanish coast. Two crewmembers were reported missing and the Spanish authorities highlighted its aircraft continued the search for the missing crewmembers. Today, it was reported that a Spanish aircraft was again seen circling over the shipwreck area.