Russia says cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after blast, 2 missing

An engine room explosion sank a Russian cargo ship called Ursa Major in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria, and two of its crew are missing, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The vessel, built in 2009, was controlled by Oboronlogistika, a company that is part of the Russian Defence Ministry’s military construction operations, which had previously said it was en route to the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok with two giant port cranes lashed to its deck.

The Foreign Ministry’s crisis centre said in a statement that 14 of the ship’s 16 crew members had been rescued and brought to Spain, but that two crew were still missing. It did not say what had caused the engine room explosion.

Unverified video footage of the ship heavily listing to its starboard side with its bow much lower down in the water than usual was filmed on December 23 by a passing ship and published on Russia’s life.ru news outlet on Tuesday.

Oboronlogistika, the ship’s ultimate owner, said in a statement on December 20 that the ship, which LSEG data showed was previously called Sparta III, had been carrying specialised port cranes due to be installed at the port of Vladivostok as well as parts for new icebreakers.

Two giant cranes could be seen strapped to the deck in the unverified video footage.