Overview
- Spanish authorities describe hull damage with inward-bent metal and seismic signals equal to 20–50 kilograms of TNT, indicating an explosion outside the ship.
- Aerial and onboard checks identified two tarp-covered components around 65–70 tons each, inconsistent with the captain’s manifest of empty containers, icebreaker parts, and cranes.
- The route from St. Petersburg toward Vladivostok through the Mediterranean, plus heavy cranes aboard, led investigators to assess an ultimate destination of Rason in North Korea.
- Fourteen crew were rescued off Cartagena after engine-room blasts while two engineers were reported missing as the vessel later sank to about 2,500 meters.
- Russia’s landing ship Ivan Gren asserted control at the scene and the deep-sea vessel Yantar later arrived, while the operator labeled the incident a terrorist attack and officials said nuclear fuel on board was unlikely.