A sanctioned Russian tanker loaded with liquid natural gas is drifting out of control in the Mediterranean with no crew on board and a gaping hole in one side, prompting warnings of a 'serious risk of a major ecological disaster'. An official in Italy, one of nine EU countries to write a joint letter to the European Commission urging action, has called the Arctic Metagaz an 'environmental bomb' waiting to go off.
The tanker, part of a shadow fleet transporting sanctioned Russian oil and gas, was badly damaged in a suspected sea drone attack near Maltese waters earlier this month. Ukraine has not commented on reports that it was responsible for crippling it.
The Arctic Metagaz is now floating south away from Italian waters and the island of Lampedusa towards Libya, with Italian and Maltese officials continuing to monitor its movement. Speaking on Italy's Radio 24, the secretary of Italy's Council of Ministers, Alfredo Mantovano, said the risks from the tanker were 'enormous' and warned that it could 'explode at any moment'.
It is said to be carrying 'significant' quantities of liquid natural gas, or LNG. An official in Rome told the BBC it also had 450 tonnes of fuel oil and 250 tonnes of diesel on board. On Tuesday afternoon the tanker was about 45 nautical miles (83km) from Italian territorial waters and 25 miles from the search-and-rescue zone ascribed to Libya.
The Arctic Metagaz set out from the Russian port of Murmansk in February. In early March, when it went up in flames, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for a 'terrorist attack'.
But Ukraine sees such 'shadow' Russian tankers as legitimate targets: they routinely sail with their transponders turned off to evade Western sanctions and the money Moscow makes from the oil and gas helps fund its ongoing war on Ukraine. Recent reports indicated an increase in drone strikes against Russian tankers, highlighting the ongoing conflict.
The World Wildlife Fund has expressed concern about the ecological risks, noting a potential spill could have catastrophic effects on the rich marine environment in the area.
The tanker, part of a shadow fleet transporting sanctioned Russian oil and gas, was badly damaged in a suspected sea drone attack near Maltese waters earlier this month. Ukraine has not commented on reports that it was responsible for crippling it.
The Arctic Metagaz is now floating south away from Italian waters and the island of Lampedusa towards Libya, with Italian and Maltese officials continuing to monitor its movement. Speaking on Italy's Radio 24, the secretary of Italy's Council of Ministers, Alfredo Mantovano, said the risks from the tanker were 'enormous' and warned that it could 'explode at any moment'.
It is said to be carrying 'significant' quantities of liquid natural gas, or LNG. An official in Rome told the BBC it also had 450 tonnes of fuel oil and 250 tonnes of diesel on board. On Tuesday afternoon the tanker was about 45 nautical miles (83km) from Italian territorial waters and 25 miles from the search-and-rescue zone ascribed to Libya.
The Arctic Metagaz set out from the Russian port of Murmansk in February. In early March, when it went up in flames, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for a 'terrorist attack'.
But Ukraine sees such 'shadow' Russian tankers as legitimate targets: they routinely sail with their transponders turned off to evade Western sanctions and the money Moscow makes from the oil and gas helps fund its ongoing war on Ukraine. Recent reports indicated an increase in drone strikes against Russian tankers, highlighting the ongoing conflict.
The World Wildlife Fund has expressed concern about the ecological risks, noting a potential spill could have catastrophic effects on the rich marine environment in the area.
