Libya tows stricken Russian gas tanker away from its shores

Libya’s coast guard has begun towing a damaged Russian LNG tanker.

Reuters reports.

The Russian-flagged “Arctic Metagaz” vessel, which was carrying LNG from the Arctic port of Murmansk, has been adrift since early March, when Russia’s Transport Ministry said it was attacked by Ukrainian drones.

With no crew on board, the vessel eventually drifted off the coast of the western Libyan port of Zuwara. Italy, France, Spain and six other southern EU members last week warned the European Commission that the tanker posed an “imminent and serious threat of a major environmental disaster.”

Omar Mohamed Omar Al-Tuwair, the commander of operations for the central sector of the coast guard and port security, said the abandoned vessel had been towed off the coast of Zuwara.

“We assure our people throughout Libya in general, and in the western coastal areas in particular, especially in Zuwar and Sabratha, that the relevant authorities are making every effort to resolve the situation,” Tuwair said.

Authorities have not yet revealed the final destination of the gas tanker.

USM previously reported that a Russian LNG tanker had stopped in the Mediterranean Sea after an attack on another gas tanker.