An explosion occurred early Tuesday in the waters between Malta and Libya involving a vessel allegedly part of Russia’s “shadow fleet”, Times of Malta reported on Tuesday.
The vessel involved was named as the LNG tanker Arctic Metagaz, and multiple explosions were reported before crew evacuation. The crew were rescued and transferred to another vessel, but there have been no confirmed distress signals.
Although not officially confirmed, sources told the Times of a possible drone attack, with the EOS Risk Group reporting a suspected drone strike.
The aforementioned “shadow fleet” has been under US and UK sanctions since 2024. It departed Murmansk on 24 February with a likely route toward Suez. Automatic Identification System was switched off for approximately 300km, suggesting an evasion of monitoring.
In a statement, the Armed Forces of Malta said that earlier on Tuesday afternoon, its Rescue Coordination Centre “was informed of a distress situation outside its Search and Rescue area involving the merchant vessel MT ARCTIC METAGAZ while transiting the central Mediterranean.”
“Upon receipt of the alert, RCC Malta initiated verification procedures and efforts to establish the exact position of the vessel. The vessel was located, and coordination actions were undertaken in line with international search and rescue obligations, including broadcasts to shipping and liaison with relevant international authorities,” the AFM said.
Survivors were subsequently located within the Libyan SRR in a lifeboat during the search effort. All crew were reported safely onboard the lifeboat, the army added.
The ship was reportedly carrying liquefied natural gas; however, sources told the Times that environmental damage to Malta is unlikely.
Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg said on social media that he was closely following the incident and that he had met both Prime Minister Robert Abela and Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri together with the PN’s Home Affairs Shadow Minister Darren Carabott.
He said that they had offered their assistance to the government and asked to be kept informed about what is happening.
“This particular moment requires us to rise above partisan politics and work together hand-in-hand,” Borg wrote.