Russian ship that sank in the Mediterranean was attacked, owner says

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian operator of a cargo ship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria said Thursday that it had been hit by a series of explosions in an act of sabotage.

Oboronlogistica, a state-controlled company that operated the Ursa Major freighter, said it was wrecked by three powerful explosions just above the water line in what it described as a “terrorist attack” that caused it to sink.

It said in a statement carried by Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency that the explosions left a hole in the ship’s starboard and filled the engine room with acrid smoke, hampering the crew’s attempts to access it. The company added that the damage to the engine room made it impossible to activate pumps and keep the ship afloat.

The company’s claims couldn’t be independently verified.

Fourteen of the Ursa Major’s crew were rescued uninjured from a lifeboat and transferred to Spain, and two others have remained missing.

The company said the ship, one of Russia’s largest cargo ships, had sailed from St. Petersburg and was carrying two heavy cranes and other equipment to the port of Vladivostok on Russia’s far eastern coast.

Oboronlogistika, a Russian shipping and logistics company that was established under Russia’s defense ministry, has been targeted by U.S. and European Union sanctions for its ties to Russia’s military.

While global warming has made the Northern Sea Route via Russia’s Arctic increasingly accessible year-round, most ships still have to choose the southern route in winter.