Russian shadow fleet LNG tanker ablaze southeast of Malta after suspected drone attack

Updated at 8:15pm with Home Affairs Minister and AFM statement

An LNG tanker, part of Russia's sanctioned shadow fleet, is ablaze in international waters to the southeast of Malta after reportedly being struck by a Ukrainian maritime drone.

Sources close to the Maltese military told MaltaToday that the Armed Forces of Malta deployed an aircraft over the burning vessel shortly after the incident was communicated on maritime radio channels. The sources said the vessel is currently being assisted by another commercial vessel and all crew on board were accounted for.

The incident is understood to have occurred some 150 nautical miles in international waters southeast off Malta. The sources suggested that the incident happened in Libyan search and rescue area. The vessel's current location is not known but aircraft tracking website Flightradar 24 shows that a German military maritime patrol aircraft that departed from Sigonella in Sicily has been circling intensely over an area to Malta's southeast for around three hours.

The Russian-flagged vessel, Arctic Metagaz, was just outside Maltese territorial waters on Hurd's Bank some 23 hours ago, according to ship-tracking website VesselFinder.

Information disseminated on Telegram accounts sympathetic to Ukraine have indicated that the ship was hit by a Ukrainian maritime drone. 

Russia has been operating a shadow fleet of oil and gas tankers to try and circumvent oil sanctions. The fleet of aged tankers often operates with switched off transponders to make it harder to track.

There has been no official communication yet from the Maltese government. Questions have been sent to the Maltese Home Affairs Ministry.

Meanwhile, in a Facebook post, Opposition leader Alex Borg said that in a meeting with the prime minister and Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri, the Opposition offered all its assistance and asked that it be kept abreast of developments. "Moments like these demand that we rise above partisan politics and work hand in hand," Borg said.

The Opposition leader also said the incident happened in Malta's search and rescue zone.

‘All crew found safe’ – Home Affairs Minister

In a statement on Tuesday evening, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said upon receiving the alert, Malta’s RCC initiated verification procedures and efforts to establish the vessel’s exact position.

“The vessel was located, and coordination actions were taken in line with international search and rescue obligations, including communication to all vessels in the vicinity and contact with the relevant international authorities,” Camilleri said. “During the search effort, the entire crew was found safe and well in a lifeboat within the Libyan Search and Rescue Region (SRR).”

‘Survivors located within Libyan SRR’ – AFM

A statement issued by the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) said it 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 statement read. “Survivors were subsequently located within the Libyan SRR in a lifeboat during the search effort. All crew were reported safely onboard the lifeboat.