A Russian liquefied natural gas tanker caught fire and sank in the Mediterranean Sea after suffering explosions, prompting Moscow to blame Ukraine for the incident.
Libyan port authorities reported the vessel went down between Libya and Malta, while all 30 crew members on board were rescued unharmed.
The ship, named Arctic Metagaz, was transporting roughly 62,000 tonnes of LNG when the blasts occurred. Libyan officials said the tanker sank approximately 130 nautical miles north of Sirte, though they could not immediately determine what triggered the fire.
Moscow claimed that the explosion was caused by “uncrewed sea drones” launched from Libyan shores, pointing fingers at Ukraine.
The Security Service of Ukraine has not confirmed involvement, stating only that it would not comment on “the situation with the tanker in the Mediterranean”. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian government-linked account on social media hinted ambiguously that the drones might not belong to the Ukrainian fleet.
According to Russia’s transport ministry, the tanker had departed from the northern port of Murmansk and was en route to Port Said. Moscow described the attack as “an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy” and implicated the European Union, although it provided no evidence linking Ukrainian drones to the incident.
President Vladimir Putin condemned the event on state television, calling it “a terrorist attack” and warning it was not the first time such an incident had occurred.
Unverified footage has surfaced online, showing the tanker engulfed in flames. Serhii Sternenko, a blogger and adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister, posted pictures on Wednesday claiming the ship had a “serious hole in the engine room compartment and is beyond repair.” He did not disclose the source of the images, which have not been independently verified.
Malta’s Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri confirmed that all crew members were rescued safely in a lifeboat by Maltese forces.
Marine tracking information indicated the tanker’s last known location was off the south-east coast of Malta a day before the fire. By the time the explosion occurred, the vessel had traveled far from its last reported position, and it appears the crew had switched off its automatic identification system.
The Arctic Metagaz is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, a network of vessels used to transport oil and gas to bypass international sanctions. Many of these tankers are older ships with unclear ownership and insurance arrangements.
Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has carried out multiple attacks on such ships using naval drones, but most strikes have occurred in the Black Sea rather than the Mediterranean.
