Splash247: Suspected kamikaze drone sets sanctioned Russian LNG carrier ablaze
A Russian-controlled, sanctioned LNG carrier was set on fire in the central Mediterranean in a suspected kamikaze‑drone strike while transiting toward the Suez Canal, authorities and security firms said, though the precise cause remains unconfirmed.
Videos circulating online showed the 138,028 cu m Arctic Metagaz (built 2003) ablaze. Vessel tracking indicates its AIS disappeared roughly 30 nautical miles off Malta’s northeastern coast before the incident.
Maritime security firm EOS Risk Group reported the vessel “was reported to have suffered a possible drone attack at approximately 0400 local time” while proceeding eastbound. The Arctic Metagaz, part of a small fleet moving LNG from Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG‑2 project, had loaded product at the Saam floating storage unit and departed Murmansk on February 24.
Maltese authorities confirmed all crew survived after abandoning ship. The Armed Forces of Malta said its Rescue Coordination Centre located survivors in a lifeboat within the Libyan Search and Rescue Region and coordinated assistance.
Splash has reported on a series of other explosions over the past year in the Mediterranean, predominantly on crude tankers, linked to Ukrainian special forces with drones and limpet mines deployed.
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