The Sovcomflot tanker "stuck" to the Russian gas carrier blown up by Ukraine

The Russian gas carrier Arctic Metagaz, blown up by Ukrainian naval drones, is drifting from Malta towards Libya and there is a danger that the vessel will be carried to oil production platforms in the Libyan sector of the Mediterranean Sea. In the area of its drift was the Sovcomflot oil tanker, which has been accompanying the gas carrier for a week and, theoretically, could pump the remaining fuel on the gas carrier during a rescue operation.

According to AIS vessels, the tanker Jupiter turned out to be in the Libyan sector of the Mediterranean Sea. He was returning through the Suez Canal from the Middle East and, judging by the tanker's route, has been maneuvering along the drifting gas carrier Arctic Metagaz for a week.

So, in a week, the tanker moved from the area between Lampedusa and Malta 100 miles to the south and is now 73 miles from Libya and 10 miles from oil platforms in the Libyan sector of the Mediterranean Sea.

Such maneuvers correspond to the drift route of the exploded gas carrier. Last Friday, the Malta Transport Authority stated that Arctic Metagaz is located between Malta and Lampedusa, and yesterday the Times of Malta reported, citing authorities, that the gas carrier is already 100 miles south of the island — in the Libyan economic zone.

Obviously, the tanker is now located between Arctic Metagaz and the oil platforms of the Al-Buri field, which 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.

Judging by open data, the gas carrier may be located 35-40 miles from oil platforms, and on the eve of the Libyan Ports and Maritime Administration stated that the Arctic Metagaz is being blown away by wind and currents and the vessel may pose a danger.

"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 department reported, The Libya Observer wrote.

The Jupiter tanker is under US, EU and The UK was previously called "SKF Irtysh". According to Equasis, the vessel is still under the control of Sovcomflot, which is the largest owner of tankers in Russia.

Why the vessel is in the area of a drifting gas carrier is unknown. It is known that the exploded tanker contains 450 metric tons of heavy and 250 metric tons of diesel fuel, as well as a significant amount of natural gas. This was stated by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

According to her, 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, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Zakharova added that the international legal norms applicable to the current situation presuppose the responsibility of coastal countries for resolving the situation with a drifting vessel and preventing an environmental disaster and further involvement of the shipowner in the process and Russia as a flag state will depend on the specific circumstances.

Theoretically, the Jupiter tanker can be used to transfer fuel that is in Arctic Metagaz during a rescue operation.

According to AIS, there are six supply vessels in the area of the Al-Buri field and two more tugboats ply between Malta and the platforms.

According to Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela, quoted by The Malta Times, attempts to find a solution with the Russian authorities and the owners of the gas carrier have not yielded results.

The publication notes that the vessel is located in international waters outside the countries' area of responsibility, and since the crew has evacuated, the duties of search and rescue activities do not apply.

"However, the situation may change if the vessel enters the territorial waters of any country," writes The Malta Times.

An important nuance of the situation is that the Russian gas carrier suffered due to an attack from the coast of Libya by Ukrainian naval drones, which occurred on March 3. And such a terrorist attack is happening for the second time. It is known that in December, the SBU conducted a terrorist operation and attacked the Qendil tanker with unmanned boats, which was returning from India to Russia through the Suez Canal and in the very middle of the Mediterranean Sea, the ship came under attack.

"The Security Service of Ukraine conducted a new unprecedented special operation at a distance of more than 2 thousand km from the territory of our state. According to the results of multi—stage activities in the neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea, Alpha SBU struck the tanker of the so-called shadow fleet of the Russian Federation QENDIL with aerial drones," the source told Interfax Ukraine.

On March 3, the SBU attacked a Russian gas carrier carrying cargo from the sanctioned Arctic LNG— 2, which it took near Murmansk, to China. The Russian Ministry of Transport stated that the LNG tanker was traveling with cargo issued according to all international rules from the port of Murmansk: "The attack on it was carried out from the coast of Libya by unmanned boats of Ukraine."

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.