The stressed-strain state and limit equilibrium of shallow spherical shell weakened by two cross-cutting meridional collinear cracks is studied in the two-dimensional formulation. The crack closure caused by bending deformation was taken into account based on the model of the crack edges contact along a line in one of the face surfaces of the shell. The boundary problem for equations of classical shell theory with interrelated conditions along the line of the cracks is formulated within the framework of such model. Singular integral equation for the unknown jump of normal rotation angle on the cracks edges has been elaborated. Based on numerical solutions of singular integral equation the stressed-strain state and limit equilibrium of the spherical shell depending on the parameters of shell curvature and distance between cracks are investigated. Using the local and integral through-the-thickness energy failure criteria of linear mechanics of fracture, the upper and lower values of limit load were established. It was found that the upper estimate of the limit load according to the integral criterion is approximately twice the magnitude of the lower estimate according to the local criterion.