Nine EU countries warn of major environmental disaster risk due to Russian tanker

Italy, France and seven other countries have informed the European Commission that a Russian LNG tanker drifting in the Mediterranean poses an environmental threat and have called for immediate action.

Source: Reuters, with reference to the letter from EU states to the European Commission, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed that the vessel is drifting in the Mediterranean and said Moscow's further involvement in resolving the situation would depend on specific circumstances.

The EU countries' letter to the European Commission states that the ship Arctic Metagaz is drifting in waters between Malta and Italy.

"The precarious condition of the vessel, combined with ​the nature of its specialised cargo, gives rise to an imminent and serious risk of ​a major ecological disaster in the heart of the Union's maritime space," the letter says.

The EU said the ship is part of Russia's shadow fleet, used to circumvent sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow is in contact with the vessel's owner and with foreign competent authorities. According to Zakharova, there is no crew on board, while the ship carries 700 tonnes of various types of fuel and "a substantial amount of natural gas".

"The ​international legal norms applicable ​to the current ⁠situation imply the responsibility of coastal countries ... for resolving the situation with the drifting vessel and preventing an environmental disaster," Zakharova wrote.

Background:

• Earlier this month, Russia's Transport Ministry said the Arctic Metagaz, which had been carrying LNG from the Arctic port of Murmansk, was attacked by Ukrainian naval drones in early March, claiming the weapons had been launched from the Libyan coast.
• Italy does not want the tanker to dock at one of its ports and hopes that the Russian management company will hire a specialised firm to tow the vessel to a safe location.

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