The LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz has sunk in the central Mediterranean after a powerful explosion and subsequent fire. The incident occurred early on March 3 roughly 130–150 nautical miles north of Sirte and southeast of Valletta.
Images taken after the blast showed at least one cargo compartment torn open, with heavy fire damage across large sections of the hull and deck. Satellite imagery earlier on March 4 indicated that the vessel was still afloat, but Libyan port authorities later confirmed that the ship eventually went down.
All 30 crew members managed to abandon the vessel in life rafts and were later rescued. Maltese and Libyan rescue coordination services located the seafarers alive in a lifeboat, and authorities reported that all crew members – Russian nationals – were safe.
In a statement, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation said the vessel had been attacked near the territorial waters of Malta while sailing from Murmansk carrying LNG cargo cleared in accordance with international regulations. The ministry described the incident as “an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy” and alleged the vessel had been struck by unmanned surface craft launched from the Libyan coast. Authorities in Libya said the exact cause of the fire remained unclear.
The ship, currently operating as MV Arctic Metagaz and previously known as MV Everest Energy, has been one of the vessels involved in exports from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, majority-owned by Novatek.
The vessel loaded LNG on February 18 during a rare triple ship-to-ship transfer near Murmansk. The cargo transferred during that operation is believed to have been on board when the explosion occurred.
