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Mediterranean

Oil tanker adrift, Arctic Metagaz crew returned to Russia

In four days the ship with no one on board could reach the Libyan coast depending on the prevailing southerly winds and sea currents

by Enrico Bronzo

aggiornato alle ore 18:10

Una veduta aerea del 3 marzo 2026, ripostata su X da OSINTdefender, della petroliera russa "Arctic Metagaz". L'immagine mostra il grande buco nello scafo bruciato della nave, che avrebbe preso fuoco nel Mediterraneo dopo essere stata presa di mira da un drone navale non identificato vicino a Malta, 13 marzo 2026 ANSA

3' min read

Translated by AI

For feedback, please contact
english@ilsole24ore.com

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

For feedback, please contact
english@ilsole24ore.com

Versione italiana

The crew of the Russian LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz returned to Murmansk and met with the governor of the region, Andrei Chibis. This was reported by the Rbk news agency. Twenty-eight of the 30 crew members on board attended the meeting with the governor. Two others are currently being treated in Moscow

The ship's commander, Andrei Zelensky, stated that thecrew was adrift at sea on a lifeboat for 15 hours after the attack.

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"We had no way to communicate on the lifeboat; we had flares and a short-range radio. We knew they were looking for us, so we waited for rescue. We were adrift for 15 hours and were rescued by a Russian manned tanker travelling a similar route," said Zelensky, quoted by Rbk.

The assistance to the sailors was organised by Russia, Malta and Libya, the captain explained.

In four days the ship could reach the Libyan coast

The damaged Russian LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz drifting unmanned in the Mediterranean for over two weeks, risking a major ecological disaster, is four to six days off the Libyan coast, Italian Civil Protection spokesman Pierfrancesco Demilito said today. He says that on board are - as fuel - 450 tonnes of heavy oil and 250 tonnes of diesel as well as an unknown quantity of gas, which may have partially dispersed.

Il porto artico di Murmansk

In Russia

According to the Russian Transport Ministry, the Arctic Metagaz, which was transporting LNG from the Arctic port of Murmansk, was hit by Ukrainian naval drones. Kiev has not claimed responsibility for any such attack.

The LNG carrier is currently in international Sar (Search and Rescue) waters that fall within Libya's search and rescue zone, about 53 nautical miles (98 kilometres) north of the capital Tripoli, the spokesman said.

Depending on the prevailing southerly winds and sea currents - assuming they do not change - it could take 'four, five or six days, more or less' for the ship to reach Libyan land, Demilito said.

Italy, France, Spain, and other southern EU members wrote to the European Commission last week warning that the Arctic Metagaz poses 'an imminent and serious risk of a major ecological disaster'

Despite having a 'large gash in its side', it does not appear to be at imminent risk of sinking, but the fear is that it could run aground or crash into an offshore oil platform, although there is currently none in the vicinity, the spokesman said.

Any intervention on the tanker would fall on Libya, as the ship is in its search and rescue waters, but Italia - as well as the EU - would be ready to help if requested, Demilito added, indicating that coastguard and navy units are also monitoring the situation.

Yesterday, there was talk of EU involvement through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (Ucrm), the European instrument, created in 2001, that coordinates the response to natural and man-made disasters; 37 countries (EU+10 Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine) share voluntary and pre-committed resources to assist affected areas, managed by the 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre (Ercc) (we are trying to contact the Italian official for clarification, ndr). This was to be discussed today as part of the ongoing European Council.

So far, there has been no direct contact with the Libyan authorities, Demilito said.

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