// Sternenko
According to information provided in the morning statement by the Russian Ministry of Transport, on March 3, the Russian gas carrier "Arctic Metagas," which was en route from Murmansk with cargo compliant with international standards, was attacked near the waters of Malta.
The Russian side claims that the attack was carried out using unmanned boats, presumably Ukrainian, located off the coast of Libya.
Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, characterized the incident in an interview with the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" as a "terrorist act" by Ukraine.
According to him, such actions could lead to destabilization of global energy markets, negatively impacting Europe, which supports Ukraine.
"The European Union continues to provide Kyiv with assistance in the form of weapons and funding, and in response, Ukraine creates new problems for Europe," Putin added.
The Security Service of Ukraine, in response to a request from the Ukrainian service of the BBC, declined to comment on the incident involving the tanker.
The Russian Ministry of Transport reported that all 30 crew members, who are citizens of the Russian Federation, were successfully rescued.
Earlier, Reuters, citing an unnamed source, reported a possible attack on the vessel using a Ukrainian maritime drone. If confirmed, this would be the first known case of Ukraine striking a Russian LNG tanker.
The vessel, which is under sanctions from the U.S. and the UK, last transmitted its coordinates on Monday while near the Maltese coast, according to Marine Traffic data.
According to videos posted on social media, a strong fire broke out on the tanker. The publication Insider also released footage of the incident.
Ukrainian blogger and activist Sergey Sternenko posted photos of the damaged vessel, pointing out a serious breach in the engine room, making its restoration impossible. This information was later reposted by Andrey Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Center for Counteracting Disinformation.
The Coordination Center for Rescue Operations of the Armed Forces of Malta reported that it received a distress signal from the tanker and was able to establish its location.
According to Maltese military sources, a rescue operation was organized, during which survivors were found aboard a lifeboat in the search and rescue zone of Libya.
According to the Libyan port authority, the vessel sank approximately 130 nautical miles (240 km) north of the port of Sirte after a series of "sudden explosions," which led to a powerful fire and ultimately its sinking.
The Libyan National Oil Corporation stated that the tanker was simply passing through the central part of the Mediterranean Sea and had no relation to the incident.
According to information from the Times of Malta, the tanker left Murmansk on February 24 after loading at a floating storage unit and was likely heading to Suez.
In the last 300 kilometers of its route, the vessel turned off its automatic identification system.
The Russian company "SMP Techmanagement," which operates the tanker, and the liquefied gas producer "Novatek" have not yet commented on the incident.
