A damaged Russian LNG tanker that has been drifting unmanned in the Mediterranean for more than two weeks, risking a major ecological disaster, is four to six days from Libya’s shores, an Italian official said on Friday. The Arctic Metagaz, carrying LNG from the Arctic port of Murmansk, has been unmanned since early March, when it was hit by Ukrainian naval drones, according to Russia's Transport Ministry. The tanker is currently in international waters falling under Libya's search and rescue zone, some 53 nautical miles (98 kilometres) north of the capital Tripoli, Italian Civil Protection agency spokesman Pierfrancesco Demilito said. EU states warn of major ecological threatItaly, France, Spain and six other southern EU members wrote last week to the European Commission warning that the Arctic Metagaz poses "an imminent and serious risk of a major ecological disaster." There have been no direct contacts with Libyan authorities so far, he said.

Source: The Telegraph March 20, 2026 15:33 UTC