TEHRAN, December 24 (MNA) – A Russian merchant ship Ursa Major reportedly sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain after an engine explosion.Fourteen crew members were rescued and brought to the port of Cartagena on Monday evening, while two others remain missing, News.Az reports, citing Spanish news outlet La Verdad.

The Ursa Major, with a crew of 16, was in transit from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok when the incident occurred.

Initial reports indicate the explosion took place in the ship's engine.

The ship’s captain confirmed that it was carrying empty containers at the time of the explosion, though earlier reports had suggested the vessel was transporting two 45-ton nuclear reactor hatches for a nuclear icebreaker and two port cranes.

The ship, operated by a subsidiary of the Russian defense company Oboronlogistika, was a key vessel in Russian supply routes to Tartus, Syria, a significant Russian naval base in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In May 2022, the Ursa Major was included in US Treasury Department sanctions related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Ursa Major departed Saint Petersburg on December 11, with plans to reach Vladivostok by January 22.

MNA/