A Russian cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria due to an explosion in the engine room and two crew members were missing, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
The ship, built in 2009 and called ”Ursa Major”, was controlled by OboronLogistics, a company that is part of the military construction operations of the Russian Defense Ministry, which previously said it would be built in the Russian Far East off Vladivostok. Was on the way to the port. Its deck was attacked with two huge port cranes.
The Foreign Ministry’s crisis center said in a statement that 14 of the ship’s 16 crew members had been rescued and brought to Spain, but two crew were still missing. It did not say what caused the explosion in the engine room.
Unverified video footage of the ship was filmed in December, showing the ship resting on its starboard side in the water much lower than normal. 23 by a passing plane and published on Russia’s life.ru news outlet on Tuesday.
The ship’s final owner, OboronLogistica, said in a statement in December. 20 That ship, which LSEG data revealed was previously called Sparta III, was carrying special port cranes as well as parts for new ice breakers due to be installed at the port of Vladivostok.
In unverified video footage, two huge cranes can be seen moored on the deck.
LSEG ship tracking data shows the ship departed from the Russian port of St. Petersburg in December. 11 and was last seen sending signals between Algeria and Spain at 2204 GMT on Monday.
On leaving St. Petersburg she indicated that her next port of call was the Russian port of Vladivostok, not the Syrian port of Tartus, which she had previously called at.
According to LSEG data, the operator and owner is a company called SK-Yug, which is part of OboronLogistica. Oboronlogistika and SK-Yuga declined to comment on the ship’s sinking.
Spanish news outlet El Español said on its website that crew members were evacuated to the Spanish port of Cartagena and that several ships, including a Spanish Navy ship, participated in rescuing the crew.
It said the ship was scheduled to arrive in Vladivostok on January 22.
