Russian ship beneath US sanction sunk in ‘act of terrorism’, says proprietor | EUROtoday

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A Russian cargo ship that sank after an explosion ripped by way of its engine room was a sufferer of an “act of terrorism”, the vessel’s proprietor has stated.

The Ursa Major cargo ship went down within the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain on Tuesday, leaving two of its 16-person crew lacking, based on Russia’s overseas ministry.

The vessel, inbuilt 2009, had been positioned beneath sanction by the United States for its ties to Russia’s navy after the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian state information company RIA reported that Oboronlogistika, the corporate which owns the cargo ship, stated in an announcement that the vessel had been focused in “a terrorist act”.

The company, which is part of the Russian defence ministry’s military construction operations, said the 14 crew members located had reported consecutive explosions on the ship at 10.50am.

The vessel was reportedly carrying two giant port cranes on its deck with their loading buckets, two heavy hatch covers for ice-breaking vessels, 129 empty containers, and a 20-foot container with roofing equipment.

Oboronlogistika had stated that the ship had been en path to the Russian far-eastern port of Vladivostok.

Oboronlogistika and SK-Yug, an organization listed because the ship’s direct proprietor and operator, have been sanctioned by the United States in 2022 for his or her ties to Russia’s navy as was the Ursa Major itself.

Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service stated it had obtained a misery sign from the Ursa Major on Monday when it was situated about 57 miles off the coast of Almeira.

Two vessels and a helicopter have been despatched to the scene and the 14 surviving crew members have been taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena.

LSEG ship monitoring knowledge exhibits the vessel departed from the Russian port of St Petersburg on 11 December and was final seen sending a sign on Monday between Algeria and Spain the place it sank.

On leaving St Petersburg it had indicated that its subsequent port of name was the Russian port of Vladivostok, not the Syrian port of Tartous which it has known as at prior to now.

Reuters contributed to this report.