A Russian natural gas tanker adrift in the Mediterranean Sea represents an “imminent and serious” ecological threat, several European nations have warned.
The Arctic Metagaz has been drifting in waters between Malta and Italy, European Union (EU) states, including France and Italy, said in a letter to the European Commission.
Earlier this month, Russia‘s Transport Ministry said the vessel, which was carrying liquefied natural gas from the Arctic port of Murmansk, was attacked by Ukrainian naval drones, which it claimed had been launched from the Libyan coast.
On 4 March, Libya’s maritime agency reported that the vessel had sunk in waters between Libya and Malta after catching fire a day before.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
The letter to the European Commission said the state of the Arctic Metagaz poses the “dual challenge” of upholding maritime safety and preventing an ecological disaster while maintaining EU sanctions imposed on Russia.
“The precarious condition of the vessel, combined with the nature of its specialised cargo, gives rise to an imminent and serious risk of a major ecological disaster in the heart of the Union’s maritime space,” the letter said.
The EU said the vessel was part of Russia’s “shadow fleet”, which is intended to bypass sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The letter said action to resolve the situation, including surveillance, monitoring and other technical support, risked “undermining the integrity, effectiveness and the deterrent value of the EU sanctions regime”.
Russia’s foreign ministry acknowledged the vessel was adrift in the Mediterranean, and said Russia’s further involvement in the situation would depend on “concrete circumstances”.
Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow was in touch with the vessel’s owner, and foreign “competent bodies”.
The ship, which has no crew, was carrying 700 metric tons of different types of fuel, and “a substantial amount of natural gas”.
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“The international legal norms applicable to the current situation imply the responsibility of coastal countries… for resolving the situation with the drifting vessel and preventing an environmental disaster,” Ms Zakharova said in a statement on the ministry’s website.
“Further involvement by the shipowner and Russia as the flag state will depend on the specific circumstances.”
