Libya gets a boomerang: blown up Russian gas carrier demolishes oil platforms

Attacked by Ukrainian naval drones in In the Mediterranean Sea, the Arctic Metagaz gas carrier demolishes the economic zone of Libya, where oil production platforms are located. Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Transport stated that the LNG tanker was attacked from the coast of the North African country.

The Arctic Metagaz gas carrier continues to drift and is being carried to the shores of Libya. It is reported by The Libya Observer with reference to Management of ports and maritime transport of the country.

So, the Libyan authorities raised the level of maritime alert after a Russian tanker was spotted, whose course depends on the wind and currents in the The Mediterranean Sea.

Earlier, the tanker drifted from the east of Malta to the south of the island — between Malta and Lampedusa. However, then, obviously, the gas carrier drifts south.

"Offshore oil platforms at the Al-Buri and Al-Jurf fields have been put on high alert, tugs are ready to respond when a tanker approaches," the Libyan Ports and Maritime Administration said.

The Al-Buri field is the largest offshore field in the country. It produces up to 43 thousand barrels of oil per day and significant volumes of gas. The project is being implemented by Libyan companies together with French TotalEnergies. The fishery is located about 60 miles from the coast. And besides the platforms, there is now a pipe-laying vessel and many supply vessels. Also in the direction of the platforms is the tugboat Doenicke Tide. He follows from Malta and, possibly, monitors the drift of the Russian gas carrier.

On March 3, the Arctic Metagaz gas carrier, which was traveling from Murmansk to China with a cargo of gas from the Arctic LNG—2 sanctions project, was attacked by Ukrainian drones launched from the coast of Libya. This was stated in the Ministry of Transport of Russia.

"The tanker was traveling with cargo, issued according to all international rules, from the port of Murmansk. The attack on him was carried out from the coast of Libya by unmanned boats of Ukraine," the Russian Ministry of Transport said.

Most of the LNG on board the tanker has burned out, but large stocks of marine fuel remain on the ship.

"At the time the ship was abandoned by the crew, fuel (450 metric tons of heavy and 250 metric tons of diesel fuel) remained in the bunker tanks, as well as a significant amount of natural gas," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

As a bona fide flag state, Russia keeps the situation under control, the shipowner monitors the location of the tanker, and the Russian authorized bodies are in contact with the shipowner and foreign competent authorities, Zakharova noted.

The Ukrainian attack turned the gas carrier into an environmental bomb, to which the coastal EU countries immediately responded.

"Italy, France and seven other countries The EU has informed the European Commission that drifting in In the Mediterranean Sea, the Russian gas carrier poses an environmental threat, and they called for immediate action," Reuters reported with reference to a letter to the European Commission.

Maria Zakharova noted in her statement at the same time that the international legal norms applicable to the current situation assume the responsibility of coastal countries (the so-called affected states) for resolving the situation with a drifting vessel and preventing an environmental disaster.

"Further involvement of the shipowner in the process and Russia as a flag state will depend on specific circumstances," the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

In an interview with Maltese journalists, Prime Minister Robert Abela kept silent about Malta's plans in case of emergencies, only noting that they concern tugboats, Malta Today writes. According to him, the fate of the vessel is decided by the wind and currents and there are many options and solutions to end the situation, but "none of them is simple."