Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine on Wednesday of carrying out a “terrorist attack” on one of its liquefied natural gas carriers in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast this week.
The sunken ship, the Arctic Metagaz, was sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for being one of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of ageing tankers that carry its oil and gas around the world, skirting Western restrictions.
The Libyan port authority said the vessel was hit by “sudden explosions followed by a massive fire, which ultimately led to its complete sinking” on Tuesday night north of the port of Sirte.
“This is a terrorist attack. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this kind of thing,” Putin told a reporter from Russian state television, accusing Ukraine of being responsible.
The Russian transport ministry said earlier that the strike “was launched from the Libyan coast by Ukrainian naval drones”, without providing more details.
Ukraine has not commented on the latest incident but said last December it had hit a Russian tanker with aerial drones in the Mediterranean in what was the first such strike there in the now four-year war.
Libya’s port authority said of Tuesday’s incident that the ship had been carrying roughly 62,000 metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas to Port Said in Egypt.
The Russian ministry said it had departed from the northern Russian port of Murmansk.
All 30 crew members have been rescued, Moscow said. Two received burns, Russian state media reported, citing the transport ministry.
The Libyan port authority said the wreckage took place between Libya and Malta “within the Libyan search-and-rescue zone… approximately 130 nautical miles north of the port of Sirte”.
It warned all ships against approaching the wreckage site, citing the risks of collision and security concerns.
