Norway loses Nordic face as it refuses to help Russian sailors of sinking ship

The Norwegian-flagged Oslo Carrier 3 ship refused to rescue Russian sailors from the Ursa Major ship as the latter was sinking in the Mediterranean Sea, RIA Novosti said with reference to the press service of the Oboronlogistics group of companies, the operator of the sunken ship.

Photo: fws.gov by Kevin Bell, https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/pdm/

Sinking ship

The lifeboat with Russian sailors from the sinking ship headed towards the Norwegian-flagged Oslo Carrier 3 ship which was staying nearby.

"When the lifeboat approached, the Norwegian ship (part of crew of the Norwegian ship spoke Russian) refused to accept the Ursa Major crew members. They referred to a certain prohibition," Oboronlogistics, the operator of the sunken Ursa Major cargo ship said.

The decision not to help the Russian sailors was made in gross violation of Article 10 of the International Convention on Salvage of 1989, the company added.

Russian cargo vessel Ursa Major, built in 2009, sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain and Algeria on December 23. A rescue operation was carried out in the disaster area.

Two Russian sailors are still unaccounted for.

The vessel was sailing under the Russian flag from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. According to Oboronlogistics, the ship sank as a result of a terrorist attack. Fourteen crew members were rescued and taken to the port of Cartagena (Spain), two crew members are missing. All of them are Russian citizens. According to Spanish newspaper El diario vasco, the Ursa Major ship sank after an explosion in the engine room.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed reports about the explosion.

"The Russian dry cargo ship Ursa Major (owned by SK-YUG LLC) sank in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea after an explosion in the engine room," the ministry said.

The Ursa Major is a universal dry cargo ship of the RO-RO/LO-LO class. The flagship of the Oboronlogistics fleet, Ursa Major (translated from Latin as Big Dipper), set off on another voyage to the Far East with port cranes weighing 380 tons each, and 45-ton hatch covers for new icebreakersю The maximum capacity of the vessel reaches 9.5 thousand tons. The Ursa Major was supposed to arrive in Vladivostok on January 22.

Norway explains decision not to help Russian sailors in time of need

The Norwegian-flagged Oslo Carrier 3 refused to take the Russian sailors from the Ursa Major on board, because another ship was already on its way to help the Russians, representatives for the Bulkship Management, the owner of the Norwegian ship said.

"The rescue operation was carried out by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Cartagena (MRCC; Spain), which is responsible for such operations in the area. The MRCC ordered the captain not to take the crew from the ship in distress on board, because their rescue ship was en route to the scene,” the Norwegian company said.

The lifeboat was secured to the Oslo Carrier 3 until the rescue ship arrived, Norwegian officials added.

"The weather was good, none of the lifeboat crew members were injured, there was no immediate danger to them,” Bulkship Management said and showed photos of the rescue operation.

Medvedev: Such decisionы cannot be forgiven

The refusal of a Norwegian vessel to accept the Russian sailors from the sinking cargo ship is a decision that cannot be forgiven, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said. Europe should be severely punished for such an act, he believes.

"Why so harshly? How else could it be given the facts? The ship flying the Norwegian flag Oslo Carrier 3 refused to help the Russian sailors from the Ursa Major ship. The people were drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Does anyone else need any other explanations? This cannot be forgiven!” Medvedev said.