Russian cargo ship sinks in the Mediterranean after engine room blast, leaving two crew missing

Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank in Mediterranean, leaving two missing crew members, according to Spanish and Russian authorities.

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, December 24, 2024.

Fourteen of the Ursa Major's crew were rescued uninjured from a lifeboat and transferred to Spain, the agency said. The Russian Ministry said the ship started sinking following an explosion in the engine room.

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The vessel was owned by SK-Yug, a subsidiary of the Russian shipping and logistics company Oboronlogistika, which was established under Russia's defense ministry and placed 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.

In a statement on December 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. Ursa Major had left St. Petersburg 12 days ago, Russian state news agency Ria Novosti said.

Spanish authorities said they received an alert around 1 p.m. Monday when the vessel was roughly 57 nautical miles (106 kilometers) from 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.