Russia says cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after blast, two missing

Two crew members are missing after a Russian state-owned cargo ship sank in international waters in the Mediterranean after an explosion on board, Russia's foreign ministry said on Telegram on Tuesday.

The Ursa Major sank "after an explosion in the engine room", the ministry's crisis unit said.

The ministry said that out of the 16 Russian crew members, 14 had been rescued and taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena and two were missing.

Spain's sea rescue service said in a statement that the ship sent a distress call Monday morning when it was off the coast of southeastern Spain in bad weather, reporting that the ship was listing and a lifeboat had been launched.

Spain sent out a helicopter and rescue boats and took the survivors to port, where they were helped by the Red Cross, the service said.

A Russian warship then arrived and took charge of the rescue operation since the ship was between Spanish and Algerian waters, after which the Ursa Major sunk overnight.

"According to the survivors' account, the cargo ship was carrying empty containers in the hold and two cranes on deck," the Spanish rescue service said.

The Russian foreign ministry said the ship is owned by a subsidiary of Russia's Oboronlogistika, which belongs to the defence ministry and also provides civilian transport and logistics.

A map on Oboronologistika's website shows the company among other things covers a route from Novorossiisk, in southern Russia, to Tartus, Russia's naval base in Syria.

Ukraine's GUR military intelligence said Monday that "Russia has begun transporting some of its weapons and equipment from the port of Tartus to Libya by sea".

There is uncertainty over the future of Russia's bases in Syria after the removal of Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad.

The Ursa Major is listed on MarineTraffic.com as a 124.7-metre (409-foot) long general cargo ship that was sailing from the Russian city of Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok in Russia's Far East.

Last week Oboronlogistika issued a press release with photos of the ship in port, saying it would transport a particularly large and heavy load: cranes each weighing 380 tonnes and hatch covers for icebreakers each weighing 45 tonnes to the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.

It said this was part of "state" efforts to develop ports and the northern sea route via the Arctic.

Delivery by sea is best for such bulky equipment and the company has "great experience" in this, it said.

Agentstvo investigative news site wrote that the hatch covers were for a vaunted new nuclear icebreaker called Lider, designed to break thick ice on the northern sea route.

The accident came after a Russian tanker transporting fuel oil partially sunk in a strait between Moscow-annexed Crimea and southern Russia on December 16, causing a major oil spill.

© Agence France-Presse