The Russian cargo ship sank in The Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria, leaving two crew members missing, the Spanish Maritime Rescue Agency and the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Fourteen crew members of the Ursa Major were rescued unharmed from a lifeboat and flown to Spain, the agency said. The Russian agency said that the ship began to sink after an explosion in the engine room.
The vessel belonged to SC-Pudnev, a subsidiary of the Russian transport and logistics company “Oboronlogistika”, established under the Ministry of Defense of Russia and subordinated Sanctions of the USA and the European Union for connections with the Russian army.
Spanish authorities said there were empty containers and two cranes on board. They did not confirm the cause of the accident.
In the statement of “Oboronlogistics” dated December 20, it is said that the cargo ship was headed in the opposite direction The city of Vladivostok in the far east of Russia carries two port cranes of 380 tons each. The Big Dipper left St. Petersburg 12 days ago, reports the Russian state agency RIA Novosti.
Spanish authorities said they were alerted at around 1pm on Monday when the vessel was about 57 nautical miles from AlmerÃa in south-east Spain. The Maritime Rescue Agency contacted a vessel nearby which reported poor weather conditions, a lifeboat in the water and the Big Dipper listed.
The authorities said that a Russian warship arrived later on Monday to oversee rescue operations, and the 142m cargo ship sank around midnight. The Russian embassy in Spain informed RIA Novosti that they are investigating the accident and are in contact with local authorities.
The Big Dipper was in the western Mediterranean at the same time as the Sparta, another Russian cargo ship under US sanctions, which was reportedly headed for Port Said in Egypt on Tuesday, MarineTraffic.com reported.
Often, Russian ships going from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok transit through the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal. With global warming, The Northern Sea Route through the Russian Arctic increasingly year-round, but most ships still choose the southern route in winter.
Spanish maritime rescue units remained in the area on Tuesday to monitor the pollution and remove any floating objects that could be dangerous to navigation, authorities said.