Two missing after Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean near Spain after engine room blast

Russian cargo ship Ursa Major Credit: Yoruk Isik/Reuters/File via CNN Newsource

A Russian cargo ship has sunk in the Mediterranean Sea, between Spain and Algeria, following an explosion in the engine room, according to Spain's maritime rescue agency and Russia's Foreign Ministry.

Fourteen crew members were rescued from a lifeboat uninjured and taken by to Spain, the agency said, while two people remain unaccounted for.

The Russian Foreign ministry confirmed the Ursa Major started sinking following an explosion in the engine room. No cause for the accident has been given.

The vessel, owned by SK-Yug a subsidiary of the Russian shipping and logistics company Oboronlogistika, established under Russia's defence ministry, was placed under sanctions by the US and EU due to its ties to the Russian military.

On Friday, Oboronlogistika said the ship was on its was to Vladivostok, in Russia's far east.

However, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, claimed on social media that Russian ships are being sent to Syria and said on Monday that one ship had already encountered problems off the coast of Portugal, hours before the Ursa Major sank.

It claims Moscow is using the ships to transport weapons from the Russia controlled facility in the port of Tartus following the overthrow of former Syrian President Basher Al-Assad, a Russian ally.

According to ship-spotting platform MarineTraffic.com, Sparta, another Russian cargo ship in the region, showed its last reported destination as Port Said in Egypt.

Spanish authorities said they received an alert around 1 p.m. Monday when the vessel was roughly 106 kilometers off the coast of Almeria 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.

Authorities said there were empty containers and two cranes on board as the 142-metre cargo vessel sank around midnight, where a Russian warship arrived later to oversee rescue operations.

A Russian embassy in Spain said is was investigating the accident and was in contact with local authorities.

Spanish authorities remains in the area on Tuesday to monitor pollution levels and remove any debris that could be dangerous for navigation.

Earlier this month, two Russian ships carrying thousands of tons of oil were damaged in a storm

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