The sanctioned Arctic Metagaz tanker sustained irreparable damage after being struck in the Mediterranean Sea.
The vessel suffered a large hole in its midsection, clearly visible in a photo released by Libyan media activist Emad Fathi.
In a comment to Militarnyi, Leonid Vashchenko, a member of the Nautical Institute and the U.S. Naval Institute, stated that damage of this scale makes the tanker beyond repair.
The attack took place on March 3 near Malta’s territorial waters. The tanker was carrying cargo from the Russian port of Murmansk.
According to one version, naval drones launched from Libyan territory attacked the gas carrier.
There is no confirmation of Ukrainian involvement. Ukrainian authorities have not officially commented on the attack.
Rescue teams evacuated 30 crew members from the vessel, all of whom are Russian citizens.
The Arctic Metagaz tanker is listed on the War & Sanctions portal, which lists sponsors and accomplices of aggression, maintained by the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The portal states that the vessel is involved in transporting fossil fuels in circumvention of sanctions.
According to The Insider, on February 18, Arctic Metagaz loaded liquefied natural gas at the floating storage unit Saam, owned by the company Novatek, which operates under the Russian flag approximately 50 kilometers northwest of Murmansk.
After that, the tanker bypassed the United Kingdom and Spain and entered the Mediterranean Sea. According to data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, provided to The Insider, Arctic Metagaz switched off its Automatic Identification System on the evening of March 2 while exiting Malta’s exclusive economic zone.
No distress signals were received from the tanker, the Naftenporiki media emphasizes.
