Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544378
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 APRIL 2026 ANALYSIS A distant war, a Russian wreck The LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz was struck by marine drone on 3 March in international waters to Malta's southeast. The crippled vessel was abandoned and remains adrift in the Mediterranean, posing an environmental and security hazard no country wants to deal with on its own KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt LIBYAN authorities in the east re-engaged with the strick- en Russian LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz over the past couple of days after the drifting ship ap- proached the coastline. The tugboats Maridive 701 and ICDAS 1 were in the same area as the Russian wreck on Friday, according to ship track- ing website Marine Traffic as they towed the ship back out to sea. According to Sergio Scandura, an Italian journalist with Radio Radicale who has been tracking the Arctic Metagaz since it was attacked on 3 March, the tug- boats restored the towing line with the crippled vessel and towed the wreck out north at about one knot. The operation was charac- terised by several stop-and-go markers on ship tracking web- sites, in what Scandura de- scribed as an "ongoing struggle between the wreck of the Rus- sian tanker and its tugboat", despite the calm sea conditions of recent days. The intention of the latest Libyan operation carried out by the eastern forces led by General Khalifa Haftar remains unclear but the stricken ship, which is listing to one side, still has two tanks with liquefied natural gas cargo and a supply of heavy fuel oil that was used to propel the vessel. The un- crewed vessel, which formed part of Russia's sanction-bust- ing shadow fleet, is considered to be safety and environmental hazard. The Maridive had original- ly been engaged by the Libyan National Oil Corporation to tow the Arctic Metagaz, when the wreck was drifting towards oil platforms off western Libya. The towing operation was later abandoned because of severe weather conditions just before Easter. The latest satellite data from 7 April, provided by Coperni- cus via Sentinel-2, showed the Russian vessel adrift around 54 nautical miles from the coast- line between Benghazi and Daryanah. Based on the more recent location of the two tug- boats provided by Marine Traf- fic and Scandura's analysis, the wreck later drifted more to the east and closer to the coast. Based on the coordinates of the tugboat Maridive, by Satur- day, the wreck was likely some 67 nautical miles away from the Libyan coastal town of Tol- meita, which is situated north- east of Benghazi. On 3 March, the Arctic Metagaz was hit by two ma- rine drones that caused an ex- plosion and fire on board. The ship was abandoned by its crew and has remained a adrift since then with no country taking re- sponsibility for removing the danger. Russia blames Ukraine for the attack and has even sug- gested the marine drones were dispatched from the Liby- an coast. Ukraine has never claimed responsibility for the attack that happened in inter- national waters between Malta and Libya. However, the Russian claims appears to be supported by an independent investigation car- ried out by French media outlet RFI that revealed the presence of Ukrainian military forces in western Libya operating with the blessing of the UN-recog- nised Tripoli-based govern- ment. The maritime surface drone was of the Magura V5 type, manufactured in Ukraine. A significant escalation Military analyst David P. At- tard, a retired colonel and for- mer deputy commander of the Armed Forces of Malta, recent- ly described the attack on the Arctic Metagaz as "a significant escalation" in the Ukraine-Rus- sia war. This was ostensibly the first strike by Ukraine on a fully lad- en tanker forming part of Rus- sia's shadow fleet. Other strikes have targeted mercantile ves- sels with no cargo or military ships. Writing in MaltaToday, At- The floating wreckage of the Arctic Metagaz as photographed on 30 March by Libya's General Administration for Coastal Security as it monitored a salvage operation that was eventually aborted because of bad weather (Photo: FB) A tugboat attempting to tow the Russian vessel on 31 March as a patrol boat from Libya's General Administration for Coastal Security watches at a distance (Photo: FB)