Russian tanker ‘hit by drone’ in Mediterranean

The Arctic Metagaz reportedly sank after an explosion nearly split in half the liquefied natural gas carrier

The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of using naval drones to attack a tanker in the Mediterranean Sea.

Russia’s transport ministry said that the Arctic Metagaz, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, was hit near Malta on Tuesday night.

The ministry claimed Ukraine launched the attack from the coast of Libya, describing it as “an ‌act of international terrorism and maritime piracy”.

All 30 crew members, who were Russian citizens, were safe, it added.

The ‌Security Service ‌of Ukraine (SBU) ⁠did not respond to a request for comment.

Moscow said the tanker, which was sanctioned by the United States and the European Union, had departed from the northern Russian port of Murmansk.

“We ​qualify what happened as an ‌act of international terrorism and maritime piracy, a gross violation of the fundamental norms of international maritime law,” the ministry said.

The Libyan port authority said the tanker was carrying an estimated 62,000 metric tons of LNG on its way to Port Said, Egypt.

The ship “had experienced sudden explosions followed by a massive fire, which ultimately led to its complete sinking” north of the Libyan port of Sirte, it added.

Ukraine has frequently targeted Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in an attempt to deprive the Kremlin’s war machine ⁠of funding.

The incident has added to the uncertainty on the global markets, already shaken by the war in Iran.

In December last year, Ukraine struck a shadow fleet vessel crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

The SBU claimed that the drone strike on the sanctioned Qendil, which was some 1,200 miles outside of Ukrainian territory, had left the oil tanker critically damaged.

Shadow fleet vessels, thought to number more than 1,000, seek to hide their participation in Russia’s war machine by obscuring their ownership and flying the flags of other nations.

The Oman-flagged tanker had left Port Said in Egypt on Dec 16 and turned back in that direction following the strike.