A banned Russian cargo ship previously used for military supplies sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria after an explosion in its engine room.

Two crew members are missing from the Ursa Major, while 14 have been rescued and brought to Spain, the Russian foreign ministry said.

Video footage of the ship heavily listing to its starboard side with its bow much lower down in the water than usual was filmed on Dec 23 by a passing ship.

LSEG ship tracking data show the vessel departed from the Russian port of St Petersburg on Dec 11 and was last seen sending a signal at 10.04pm GMT on Monday between Algeria and Spain.

On leaving St Petersburg, it had indicated that its next port of call was the Russian port of Vladivostok.

It previously called at the Syrian port of Tartus, a Russian navy stronghold that Moscow recently abandoned after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

The ship was sanctioned by the US in 2022 and is believed to have been used to transport military equipment for Russian troops in Syria.

Ukraine’s military intelligence on Monday noted that the ship, which is also known as the Sparta, “broken down” off the coast of Portugal.

“The cargo ship Sparta, which Russia sent to remove its weapons and equipment from Syria, broke down off the coast of Portugal – the fuel pipe of the main engine failed,” the agency said some hours before the reported explosion and sinking.

SK-Yug, the ship’s operator and owner, is part of Oboronlogistics, a company that is part of the Russian Defence Ministry’s military construction operations, according to LSEG data. Oboronlogistics and SK-Yug declined to comment on the ship’s sinking.

Oboronlogistics said in a statement on Dec 20 that the ship was carrying specialised port cranes due to be installed at the port of Vladivostok as well as parts for new ice-breakers.

Two giant cranes could be seen strapped to the deck in the unverified video footage.