Blast sinks Russian state cargo ship in Mediterranean

By AFP
December 25, 2024
The Russian cargo ship Ursa Major is pictured during a monitoring operation conducted by the Portuguese Navy along the Continental Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of Portugal.— AFP/File
The Russian cargo ship Ursa Major is pictured during a monitoring operation conducted by the Portuguese Navy along the Continental Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of Portugal.— AFP/File

MOSCOW: Two crew members are missing after a Russian defence ministry-owned cargo ship sank in international waters in the Mediterranean following an explosion on board, Moscow said Tuesday, giving few details on the ship´s mission or what caused the deadly incident. The Ursa Major sank “after an explosion in the engine room”, the Russian foreign ministry´s crisis unit said on Telegram. It added that out of the 16 Russian crew members, 14 had been rescued and taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena and two were missing. 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.