MADRID (AP) — A Russian cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria, leaving two crew members missing, Spain's maritime rescue agency and the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Fourteen of the Ursa Major's crew were rescued from a lifeboat and transferred to southeastern Spain, the agency said. The Russian ministry said the ship started sinking following an explosion in the engine room.
The vessel was owned by a subsidiary of Oboronlogistika, a shipping and logistics company that was established under Russia's defense ministry and is under U.S. and European Union sanctions for its ties to Russia's military.
Spanish authorities said there were empty containers and two cranes on board. They did not confirm the cause of the accident or where the Russian cargo ship was headed.
In a statement on Dec. 20, Oboronlogistika said the cargo ship was headed to Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok carrying two cranes for the port weighing 380 tons each.
Spanish authorities said they received an alert around 1 p.m. Monday when the vessel was roughly 57 nautical miles (106 kilometers) from the coast of Almería in southeastern Spain. The maritime rescue agency contacted a ship nearby that reported poor weather conditions, a lifeboat in the water and the Ursa Major listing.
Authorities said a Russian warship arrived later Monday to oversee rescue operations and that the 142-meter (466-foot) cargo vessel sank around midnight. The Russian embassy in Spain told state news agency RIA Novosti it was investigating the accident and it was in contact with local authorities.
Spanish authorities on Tuesday said the crew members, who were taken to the city of Cartagena, were uninjured.
Spanish maritime rescue units remained in the area Tuesday to monitor for pollution and remove any floating objects that could be dangerous for navigation, authorities said.
