A Russian tanker that was badly damaged in an attack in the Mediterranean last week is drifting without crew toward the Libyan coast, Italy's civil protection service said on Friday. Italian officials said there was no sign that the fuel used to power the tanker had leaked, but they were unable to comment on the fate of the gas consignment. The ship, whose 30 crew abandoned it, faced U.S. and European Union sanctions as a suspected part of Russia's "shadow fleet" of vessels carrying Russian oil and gas in contravention of international sanctions. Ukraine has not commented on the case but Italian authorities are among Mediterranean nations nervously watching the ship's movements. Salvage experts have been waiting in Malta.

Source: Libya Today March 20, 2026 21:26 UTC