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Italy Calls Abandoned Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker a “Ticking Time Bomb”
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A crippled Russian fuel tanker is drifting dangerously between Italy and Malta, CNN reported on March 17.
The crewless vessel was abandoned following an alleged drone attack and is now sparking fears of a massive environmental disaster across the Mediterranean as authorities scramble to secure its volatile cargo.
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Surveillance footage shows the 277-meter Arctic Metagaz smoldering and listing heavily to one side with a massive gash in its port hull. The vessel, identified as part of Moscow’s sanctions-evading shadow fleet, is a floating powder keg carrying approximately 900 metric tons of diesel and over 60,000 metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The ship was reportedly struck by maritime and aerial drones on March 3 in neutral waters about 168 nautical miles southeast of Malta while en route from Murmansk to Egypt. The 30-person crew abandoned the burning vessel and were rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard, according to CNN.
While Russia’s foreign ministry quickly blamed Ukrainian naval drones and labeled the strike an “act of terrorism,” Kyiv has not commented on the incident.
Initially mistakenly reported as sunk by Libyan authorities, the heavily damaged tanker was spotted days later by Malta. The Italian government recently convened an emergency session led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, where officials branded the drifting ship a “ticking time bomb filled with gas” and ruled out allowing it to dock safely at any Italian port.
Both Italy and Malta have dispatched tugboats and anti-pollution assets to monitor the vessel, establishing a strict five-nautical-mile exclusion zone as it drifts near the Sicilian island of Linosa, CNN wrote.
Maltese salvage teams are currently evaluating whether the tanker can be safely towed further out to sea or if it must be deliberately sunk. However, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned that sinking the highly volatile cargo could trigger lethal cryogenic clouds and irreversible pollution in one of the Mediterranean’s most ecologically fragile and biodiverse regions. The ship’s Russian owner, LLC SMP Techmanagement, has not responded to authorities regarding salvage operations.
Ukraine rapidly expanded its maritime strike operations beyond the Black Sea over the past few months, systematically targeting Russia’s sanctions-evading shadow fleet. Since late 2025, Ukrainian naval and aerial drones repeatedly struck aging, under-insured Russian oil tankers operating in international waters.
A recent report detailed how a tightening web of Western sanctions and direct military strikes successfully crippled Moscow’s maritime logistics network, forcing at least 20% of its illicit vessels to halt operations.
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