Explosion sinks Russian cargo ship in Mediterranean

The vessel, built in 2009, was controlled by Oboronlogistika, a company that is part of the Russian Defence Ministry's military construction operations.

It was en route to the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok with two giant port cranes lashed to its deck.

The Foreign Ministry's crisis centre said in a statement that 14 of the ship's 16 crew had been rescued and brought to Spain, but that two crew were still missing. It did not say what had caused the engine room explosion.

Unverified video footage showed the ship heavily listing to its starboard side with its bow much lower down in the water than usual.

LSEG ship tracking data showed the vessel departed from the Russian port of Saint Petersburg on December 11 and was last seen sending a signal on Monday between Algeria and Spain.

Spanish news outlet El Espanol said on its website that crew members had been taken to the Spanish port of Cartagena and that several vessels, including a Spanish Navy ship, had taken part in rescuing the crew.

It said the vessel had been due to arrive in Vladivostok on January 22.