Moscow, Russia

A Russian cargo ship, Ursa Major, has sunk in the Mediterranean between Spain and Algeria after an explosion in its engine room. The Russian foreign ministry said that 14 crew members were rescued and were taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena, and two others are yet to be found. 

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The ship left port in St. Petersburg 12 days back, and the ship's owner said it was en route to Vladivostok in Russia's Far East. It was carrying two cranes for the port, with each weighing 380 tonnes. 

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Ursa Major was reportedly in the same area where another Russian ship named Sparta was last week and ran into trouble. At the beginning of December, Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) reported that Sparta was seen heading to Russia's naval base on the Syrian coast at Tartous. The report said the ship was there to move military equipment out of Syria after the downfall of Bashar al-Assad.

Further on Monday (Dec 23), the HUR said that Sparta had broken down off Portugal, but the problem had been fixed. But since Ursa Major is also known as Sparta III, it was not clear which ship the agency was referring to. 

It is still unknown what caused the explosion in the Ursa Major while it was between Oran in Algeria and the Spanish town of Aguilas.

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Ursa Major was built in 2009 and was placed under sanction after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

(With inputs from agencies)