Overview
- Spanish investigative documents identify two VM-4SG reactor units concealed aboard Ursa Major and assessed as destined for North Korea’s port of Rason.
- Authorities report no nuclear fuel after blasts produced no detectable contamination, with aerial imagery showing reactor-specific piping in undeclared 65-ton crates.
- Experts advising Spain say hull damage aligns more with a supercavitation torpedo than an internal blast, a working hypothesis that remains unconfirmed.
- Russia and shipowner Oboronloguistika assert an engine-room explosion or a “terrorist” attack, while the captain reported a 500 mm inward-edged hole indicating an external strike.
- The December 23–24, 2024 sinking left two crew missing and 14 rescued as Spain led the response, later encountering friction when Russian naval and research vessels moved to assert control at the site.