‘Ticking time bomb’: Stricken Russian fuel tanker drifts near to Italian islands

Aerial photo taken on Sunday shows the wreck of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) carrier Arctic Metagaz, which is adrift between Malta and Lampedusa. (Newsbook Malta/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Rome, Italy — Maritime authorities have warned mariners to steer clear of a crewless Russian fuel tanker that has been drifting between Italy and Malta for days after an alleged drone attack, prompting fears of an environmental disaster.

Surveillance video taken from above the ship shows the smoldering blackened vessel listing to one side, with a massive gash on its port side and a filmy substance in the waters around it.

The Russian-flagged vessel – the Arctic Metagaz – is carrying around 900 metric tons (992 US tons) of diesel fuel and more than 60,000 metric tons (66,000 US tons) of liquefied natural gas in the still-intact hull, according to Italian authorities.

It is alleged to be part of Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet, made up of aging tankers that clandestinely ferry Russian oil around the world despite sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The 277-metre (909-foot) ship left the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk and was headed to Egypt, according to the website Vessel Finder.

However, early on March 3, it “was attacked by maritime and aerial drones in neutral waters in the central Mediterranean Sea,” about 168 nautical miles southeast of Malta, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement March 11.

The 30 crew members – some of whom sustained burns – abandoned ship after a fire broke out. They were rescued from their lifeboat and taken to Benghazi by the Libyan Coast Guard in conjunction with the Russian embassy in Libya, according to Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who called the alleged attack on the commercial vessel an “act of terrorism.”

Russia’s transport ministry said Ukrainian naval drones were responsible for the attack, Reuters reported. Ukraine has not commented on the incident.

Zakharova described the incident as “a flagrant violation of international law” with potentially grave consequences.

“Notably, the attack occurred in close proximity to the shores of an EU member state, yet none of the European nations have condemned the incident to date,” she said.

Although the incident happened in international waters, the Italian government is increasingly worried shifting winds might push the vessel close to Italian territory, according to Italian navy authorities.

They addressed the situation in a special session Friday with defence, foreign, energy, maritime and civil protection ministers, as well as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The group recommended to Meloni that the ship could not safely dock at an Italian port, calling it a “ticking time bomb filled with gas,” a spokesperson for the foreign ministry who attended the meeting told CNN.

It is not thought that anyone remained on the tanker, which lost all power and control of its steering. Meloni said in a statement after the meeting that her government was in “constant contact” with the Maltese authorities and that both countries were monitoring the situation.

Both Italy and Malta have dispatched tugboats and anti-pollution assets that are ready to intervene if necessary. On Sunday, the ship was drifting about 20 nautical miles off the Sicilian island of Linosa, part of the archipelago that includes Lampedusa.

Ultimately the responsibility for salvage lies with the ship’s Russian owner, LLC SMP Techmanagement, but neither Italian nor Maltese authorities have confirmed any contact with the group. CNN has tried to contact the owner.

Maltese authorities have commissioned a specialized marine salvage team to determine whether the tanker can be safely towed to a port, or if it should be sunk at sea, according to newspaper Malta Today. The Italian Coast Guard declined to confirm to CNN if it is also part of the plan to tow it further out to sea, where the waters are deeper.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a global conservation organization, has issued a warning about the potential threats to the environment, especially if the tanker is sunk with its “extremely dangerous” cargo.

“A potential spill could cause wildfires, cryogenic clouds that are lethal to marine wildlife, and large, long-lasting pollution of water and atmosphere,” the group said in a statement Friday.

The group says the area where the ship now drifts is home to almost all the protected marine species found in the Mediterranean and is traversed by bluefin tuna and swordfish.

“The area concerned is of exceptional ecological value, with fragile deep ecosystems and one of the highest biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin,” the group warned. “The environmental risk is therefore very high and potentially irreversible, with serious repercussions for the economies of the Pelagie Islands, which are based on fishing and tourism.”

When the ship was hit, the Libyan port authority mistakenly reported to Mediterranean maritime authorities that it had sunk after suffering “sudden explosions followed by a massive fire,” Italian naval authorities told the Italian special commission.

A few days later, Maltese authorities spotted the ship and alerted Italy, with both countries warning anyone at sea to maintain at least five nautical miles’ distance from the vessel.