A sanctioned tanker, Arctic Metagaz, flying the Russian flag caught fire in the Mediterranean Sea near Malta. Preliminary reports suggest a drone may have attacked the vessel.
Reuters and Times of Malta reported the incident, citing unnamed sources.
Details
According to vessel-tracking platform MarineTraffic, Arctic Metagaz last transmitted its location on March 2 near the Maltese coast. Social media posts show the tanker engulfed in flames, with the fire reportedly burning from morning into the night.
Sources say a drone could have caused the attack. Times of Malta reported a series of explosions around 4 a.m. between Malta and Libya.
The crew evacuated to a nearby ship. The Maltese Armed Forces sent an aircraft to survey the area after receiving a signal through maritime radio channels.
Reuters sources did not confirm the crew’s condition. One source speculated that Ukraine might have been involved, though no evidence supports this claim.
Arctic Metagaz is under sanctions from the U.S., U.K., Canada, the EU, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Australia.
Context
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense Intelligence reports the tanker transports fossil fuels from the “Arctic LNG-2” project, bypassing international sanctions.
To hide its route, the vessel allegedly used GPS spoofing, manipulating navigation data in violation of international maritime law.
Earlier, on the night of March 1, the Belgian Armed Forces seized a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker with support from French military forces.
Previously, The Ukrainian Review reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed new sanctions on companies supporting the Russian shadow fleet, targeting entities transporting sanctioned oil and helping Russia bypass global price limits.
