After drifting as a “ghost ship” for two weeks across the Mediterranean, the abandoned Russian-flagged LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz has returned to Libyan search and rescue waters, continuing to leak gas and posing what Italian authorities describe as a “substantial hazard.” The vessel’s precarious journey followed an explosion 170 nautical miles off Malta and has now led it back into Libya’s responsibility zone due to prevailing currents, as confirmed by Italy’s Civil Protection agency.
While two of the ship’s four liquefied natural gas tanks remain intact, officials have not disclosed the amount of LNG still onboard. Malta is maintaining a five nautical mile exclusion zone around the abandoned tanker, with concerns escalating about the potential for gas dispersion. The situation is alarming, as the Arctic Metagaz has drifted through multiple search and rescue areas—Libya’s, Malta’s, and Italy’s—without any state claiming responsibility for its actions.
Six southern EU nations, including Italy, have alerted the European Commission, citing the vessel as a significant ecological threat. It may still carry hundreds of tonnes of condensed methane and up to 800 tonnes of oil products, which could ignite or spill if the hull is breached. Italian authorities, prepared to respond rapidly if requested by Malta or the EU, have placed emergency assets on standby, though the ship remains in a precarious legal situation.
Ownership complexities arise as Arctic Metagaz is registered to a Russian company linked to the state gas entity Novatek. Following the explosion, which has been labeled as “an act of terrorism” by Moscow, speculation has circulated regarding Ukrainian involvement. Should the Ukrainian military have targeted the ship, it would represent a significant expansion of the conflict’s maritime reach, impacting Russian gas shipments and redirecting LNG carriers away from the Mediterranean.
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