According to the Italian civil defense agency, the ship named Arctic Metagaz was heavily damaged after the attack on March 3 while transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia to Egypt. All 30 sailors left the ship, leaving the ship adrift at sea in an uncontrolled state.
Russia accused Ukraine of being behind the attack aimed at destroying the ship. However, Kiev has not made any comments.
Italian officials said that there are currently no signs of fuel leakage used to operate the ship. However, the fate of the LNG gas on board is still unclear. This is a factor that makes the situation particularly dangerous, because LNG can cause large explosions if unfavorable conditions occur.
According to information from Russia, the ship carries about 800 tons of fuel, while the Libyan port authority said the ship was carrying up to 62,000 tons of LNG intended to be delivered to Egypt. With such a large volume, any incident could have serious consequences.
Currently, the ship is in international waters but located in Libya's search and rescue area, about 53 nautical miles north of the capital Tripoli and is tending to drift southward.
Italian authorities admit they cannot accurately determine the amount of gas remaining on the ship, but warn that this is a "potential danger" due to the risk of explosion.
The ship was seriously damaged, and towing is also an extremely complex task," said a spokesman for the Italian civil defense agency. He added that a large tear appeared on the side of the hull, making it unstable even though there were no immediate signs of sinking.
Images recorded by AFP on March 21 show that the ship has been scorched in many areas, with two large holes on each side of the hull - clear traces of previous explosions and fires. This further increases concerns about the possibility of secondary incidents if the ship continues to drift uncontrollably.
Faced with the critical situation, Libya has officially hired a professional rescue company to control the ship. The emergency move was implemented by the National Oil Corporation (NOC), in coordination with the joint venture Mellitah Oil & Gas and Italian Energy Group Eni. The goal is to stabilize the ship and tow it back to port safely before a serious incident occurs.
NOC said it has established an emergency coordination center under the direct supervision of leaders, coordinating with international partners to handle the situation.
The current plan is to stabilize the ship's structure, prevent leaks and tow it into a safe port in Libya. However, time is running out.
According to estimates from Italy, the ship could touch the Libyan coast within 4-6 days, depending on wind and current conditions.
Notably, this ship is subject to sanctions from the US and the European Union (EU), due to being suspected of belonging to Russia's "dark fleet" - a oil and gas transportation network aimed at evading international sanctions.
