A Russian cargo ship has sunk in the Mediterranean Sea after an explosion in the engine room of the vessel, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Two crew members have been missing after the ship, Ursa Major, sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria.
According to a report in the Associated Press, fourteen of the vessel’s crew were rescued from a lifeboat and transferred to Spain. The Spanish authorities said that the crewmembers who were taken to the city of Cartagena were uninjured.
The Russian ministry said that the ship started following an explosion in the engine room.
A Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain after an explosion, the Spanish newspaper La Verdad reported.
It is reported that the Russian dry cargo ship wrecked in international waters between Spain and Algeria. 14 crew members were… pic.twitter.com/T6f0PpdAdP
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Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service said that they received an alert around 1 pm on Monday when the ship was around 106 kilometres from the coast of Almería in southeastern Spain. It said it had contacted a ship nearby which had reported bad weather conditions, a lifeboat in the water, and said the Ursa Major was listing to the starboard side.
Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Spain said that it was investigating the accident and is in contact with local authorities.
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 Dec. 23 by a passing ship and published on Russia’s life.ru news outlet on Tuesday.
The vessel, Ursa Major, was built in 2009 and controlled by Oboronlogistika, a company that is part of the Russian Defence Ministry’s military construction operations.
There are no details available on the cause of the engine room explosion or where the Russian cargo ship was headed.
