The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that a Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank due to an engine room explosion in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria.

Fourteen crew members were said to have been rescued and taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena, but two others were missing.

According to Russia’s Interfax news agency, Ursa Major left the port of St. Petersburg 12 days ago.

The ship’s owner said it was en route to Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East carrying two cranes, each weighing 380 tons, but the destination could not be independently confirmed.

The Ursa Major ran into trouble in the same area of ​​the Mediterranean as another sanctioned Russian ship, the Spartan, and the two ships were spotted crossing the English Channel last week, reportedly under escort.

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s military intelligence service (HUR) reported that the Spartan was heading to Russia’s naval base in Tartus on the Syrian coast to transport military equipment out of Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad. .

Russia is in contact with Syria’s new rulers about the future of two of its military installations, a Kremlin official said on Monday. on a diplomatic and military level.

Ursa Major’s owner Oboronlogisticika has been actively involved in delivering cargo to Tartus, although Sparta reported on Tuesday that the destination was Port Said in Egypt.

On Monday, HUR reported that the Spartan broke down near Portugal but that the problem has been resolved. The Ursa Major was also known as the Spartan III, so it’s unclear which ship it refers to.

It is not clear why the Ursa Major exploded as it passed between Oran, Algeria, and the Spanish town of Aguilas. However, unconfirmed video showed the ship listing heavily on Monday.

The ship was built in 2009 and its owner was sanctioned for transporting cargo to the Russian military following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Oboronlogisticika said the cargo ship, known as the flagship of its fleet, carries the icebreaker’s 45-ton hatch cover, as well as large cranes for the Vladivostok port.