Libya tows drifting Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker to avert a Mediterranean spill

CAIRO (AP) — Libyan officials were towing a drifting Russian tanker Mediterrenian This has been going on for the past three weeks after the ship was damaged in a suspected offshore drone attack, officials said on Tuesday.

Arctic Metagaz is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which transports fossil fuels in violation of international sanctions. Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

The Libyan coast guard said that the tanker carrying liquefied natural gas was towed to the safe zone off the town of Zuwara on Libya’s west coast.

A video released by Libyan authorities on Tuesday showed a tugboat pulling the slow-moving tanker with a thick rope. The tanker’s hull is blackened by fire and appears to be leaning to one side.

Libya’s National Oil Corp. said over the weekend that it was cooperating with Italian energy company Eni to bring the damaged tanker safely to shore to prevent an environmental crisis.

The Libyan company said it had followed “all procedures to reduce environmental risks and prevent possible leaks or adverse effects.”

Russian officials said that the Arctic Metagaz was hit by Ukrainian navy unmanned aerial vehicles near Maltese waters and was severely damaged. All 30 crew members were rescued. Ukraine did not comment.

The tanker was hit by a drone earlier this month. The Libyan Maritime Authority said at the time that the tanker experienced “sudden explosions followed by a large fire” while about 240 kilometers (150 miles) off the Libyan city of Sirte. Libyan government body erroneously reported that the tanker had sunk.

But the Arctic Metagas remained afloat and was pushed toward the Libyan coast by winds and currents, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature, a global conservation organization.

The tanker remained “extremely unstable”, the group said in a statement on Monday, warning of “significant environmental risks to one of the Mediterranean’s most fragile and biodiversity-rich marine areas”.