The Russian Foreign Ministry said on the 24th that a Russian cargo ship named “Ursa Major” sank in the Mediterranean after an explosion in the engine room of the ship, and two crew members are missing.
Built in 2009, the 142-meter-long “Ursa Major” is owned by SK-Yug, a subsidiary of Russian shipping and logistics company Oboronlogistika. The company is part of the Russian Ministry of Defense and has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for its ties to the Russian military. The “Ursa Major” itself is also sanctioned.
The ship was carrying two harbor cranes, each weighing 380 tons, to the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok, Oboronlogistika said in a Dec. 20 statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that an explosion occurred in the cabin of the Ursa Major, which eventually sank.
On December 23, an unverified video, allegedly shot by a passing ship, showed the “Ursa Major” listing heavily to the right with its bow much lower in the water than normal.
According to Spanish media reports, the Spanish Maritime Rescue Agency was alerted at around 1 p.m. on the 23rd, when the ship was about 57 nautical miles from Almeria in southeastern Spain. The rescue agency then contacted a nearby vessel, which reported that the weather conditions in the nearby sea were bad, and that the Ursa Major was tilted to one side, with a lifeboat at its side.
The 14 crew members on board have reportedly been transferred to the Spanish port of Cartagena, but two are still missing. A number of vessels, including a Spanish naval vessel, were involved in the rescue work.