Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after engine room explosion, Moscow says

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1An explosion sank a sanctioned Russian cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday night, Russian authorities said, leaving two crew members missing.

2The crisis center of the Russian Foreign Ministry said the vessel, Ursa Major, sank south of Spain after a blast in the engine room. 3It was traveling through the Mediterranean after traversing the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow sliver of ocean between Europe and Africa.

4The ministry said 14 crew members were rescued and taken to a Spanish port but two were unaccounted for.

5Ursa Major is the flagship vessel owned by Oboronlogistika, a shipping company that moves cargo for Russia’s Defense Ministry.

6The company was sanctioned by the US State Department in 2022.

7Spain’s maritime rescue agency confirmed that the vessel had sunk, alerting ships in the area to the “possibility of shipwreck debris” and urging them “to keep a sharp lookout, keep a wide berth” and report any sightings to authorities.

8Oboronlogistika said in a press release on Friday that the vessel, which was formerly called Sparta, was on its way to Vladivostok, in Russia’s far east, transporting two large cranes that would be used to develop port infrastructure there.

9But Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, GUR, claimed on social media on Monday morning — hours before the vessel sunk — that the ship was heading to Syria, and had already encountered problems on its journey,

10Kyiv’s intelligence service claimed the ship had broken down off the coast of Portugal but that the crew had resolved the problem and continued with their journey.

11Video filmed on Monday, shared on Russian social media channels and verified by CNN, showed a vessel matching the appearance of the Ursa Major listing heavily, with cranes visible on the ship.

12The agency said Russia sent the ship to move its weapons and equipment out of Syria, where Russia still controls a port facility at Tartus, following the ouster of Moscow’s ally and former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

13Last week, two US officials and a western official familiar with the intelligence told CNN that Russia had begun withdrawing a large amount of military equipment and troops from Syria.

14The US State Department says Oboronlogistika’s main objectives are to “guarantee the needs of the Russian Ministry of Defense regarding transportation, storage, and production of military and special purpose goods.”

15Earlier this month, two Russian tankers carrying thousands of tons of fuel were badly damaged in stormy weather near the Black Sea, leading to an oil spill.

from CNN