Russia Blames Ukrainian Naval Drones for Sinking of its LNG Tanker

A Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker has sunk in the Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Malta after it was hit by explosions and a fire, Libyan port officials said.

Ukraine’s SBU state security service has not commented on the allegation, and the Libyan port authority said the cause of the fire was unclear. (Photo: Пресцентр СБУ / Security Service of Ukraine) 

Russia accused Ukraine of targeting the Arctic Metagaz with “uncrewed sea drones” launched from the Libyan coast, Jaroslav Lukiv reported for BBC News.

Ukraine’s SBU state security service has not commented on the allegation, and the Libyan port authority said the cause of the fire was unclear.

Libyan officials said the tanker was carrying about 62,000 tons of LNG before the blasts and sank about 130 nautical miles (240 km) north of the Libyan port of Sirte.

Russia’s transport ministry said 30 Russians were aboard the Arctic Metagaz.

Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said they were all found “safe and sound in a lifeboat” during a rescue operation by Malta’s armed forces.

Unverified nighttime footage has emerged purportedly showing the ship ablaze after the attack, which occurred on Tuesday.

Serhii Sternenko, a popular blogger and adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, posted pictures recently of what he said was the tanker in the Mediterranean, which had a “serious hole in the engine room compartment and is beyond repair.”

“This is a terrorist attack,” Russia’s Vladimir Putin told state TV. “This isn’t the first time we’ve encountered something like this.”

Russia’s transport ministry called it “an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy,” singling out the European Union for complicity.