// Sternenko
On the evening of March 3, the Russian tanker "Arctic Metagas," which was transporting liquefied gas from Murmansk, became the target of an attack off the coast of Malta, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Transport. It claims that the vessel was attacked by unmanned boats from Ukraine operating from the Libyan coast.
Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, called this event a "terrorist act" in an interview for the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin," adding that such actions threaten the stability of global energy markets and harm Europe, which supports Ukraine.
According to Putin, "The European Union provides endless assistance to Kyiv, while Kyiv creates new problems for Europe." In response to a request from the Ukrainian service of the BBC, the Security Service of Ukraine declined to comment on the incident with the tanker.
The Russian Ministry of Transport reported that all 30 crew members, who are citizens of Russia, were successfully rescued.
According to Reuters, the vessel may have been attacked by a Ukrainian naval drone. If confirmed, this would mark the first attack by Ukraine on a Russian tanker transporting liquefied gas.
The tanker, which is under sanctions from the US and the UK, last reported its location on Monday when it was near the shores of Malta, according to Marine Traffic. Footage from the scene appeared on social media, showing a large fire onboard. Insider also published video of the incident.
Sergey Sternenko, a Ukrainian blogger and activist, posted photos of the damaged vessel, noting that it sustained severe damage in the engine room and is beyond repair. These images were later reposted in the Telegram channel by Andrey Kovalenko, head of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation in Ukraine.
The Coordination Center for Rescue Operations of the Armed Forces of Malta reported that it received a distress signal from the tanker and quickly established its location. Maltese rescuers found survivors on a lifeboat in the search and rescue zone of Libya.
According to the Libyan port authority, the vessel sank approximately 130 nautical miles (240 km) north of the port of Sirte after a series of "sudden explosions," followed by a powerful fire that led to its complete loss. According to Libyan authorities, the tanker was carrying about 62,000 metric tons of LNG and was headed to the Egyptian port of Port Said.
The Libyan National Oil Corporation confirmed that the vessel was merely passing through the central part of the Mediterranean Sea and had no relation to its activities. The Times of Malta reported that the tanker left Murmansk on February 24 after loading at a floating storage unit and was likely headed to Suez, having turned off its automatic identification system in the last 300 kilometers of its route.
The Russian company "SMP Techmanagement," which manages the tanker, and the LNG producer "Novatek" have not yet commented on the situation.
