Libya got into a Russian gas carrier: the ghost tanker has already become Haftar's problem

The second rescue operation of Libya has also not yet brought success and the 277-meter gas carrier Arctic Metagaz, blown up by Ukrainian drones, continues to drift in The Mediterranean Sea for more than a month and a half. Now the ship is located opposite eastern Libya, which is controlled by the Libyan National Army of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. And she has to deal with a vessel whose condition is deteriorating — it can break down.

"The ghost tanker Arctic Metagaz continues to drift in The Mediterranean Sea. Satellite data confirms its current location. The tugboat Maridive 701 is still in place, monitoring the gas carrier, as weather conditions remain difficult," SeaNews writes on the Facebook page❶.

According to AIS ships, the tug is located 60 miles off the coast of eastern Libya — almost opposite Benghazi. For more than a month and a half since the day of the terrorist attack, the gas carrier has already drifted more than 600 miles. Blown up to the east of Malta, the tanker was carried at the beginning to the area between Malta and Lampedusa. Then the ship was carried to the Libyan shores, where the first unsuccessful attempt to take the ship in tow, organized by the Government of National Unity, took place. After that, the waves and the wind carried the tanker already to the east, and it turned out to be opposite Benghazi, where the coordination headquarters of Khalifa Haftar took over it.

The tugboat Maridive 701 went to pull the gas carrier off the coast in early April and even took the vessel in tow. However, they still cannot start the operation due to the strong sirocco winds and the storm. Therefore, the crew of the vessel only watches as the tanker carries further and further towards the busy trade routes and it is already only a few dozen miles away from them.

It is known that visual telemetry was performed last week, which confirmed the presence of multiple cracks in the case. Water began to flow not only into the two damaged LNG tanks, but also into the engine room, which led to deformation of the structure and the risk that the vessel could break in half.

At the same time, the other two tanks remained intact, but due to the cooling shutdown, they are venting gas, which makes the situation literally explosive.

"Any spark can cause a new explosion," Starboard Maritime Intelligence analyst Mark Douglas told il Post.

Earlier, Western media, including AFP and Radio France Internationale, reported that Ukrainian drone specialists were stationed at three Libyan bases of the National Unity Government and they staged a terrorist attack.

The Russian Ministry of Transport initially stated that it was an attack by Ukrainian drones from the coast of Libya. And the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, bluntly stated 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.

As EADaily reported, such a terrorist attack in this area of the Mediterranean Sea is taking place 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.

Arctic Metagaz is under sanctions and transported LNG cargo from the Arctic LNG—2 sanctions plant to China. After the terrorist attack, the ships of the project began to avoid the Mediterranean Sea and proceed from Murmansk around Africa.

❶Extremist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation