Operation to tow damaged Russian tanker off Libya fails due to weather

CAIRO (AP) — The operation to tow a damaged Russian tanker that has been drifting in the Mediterranean has failed due to harsh weather conditions, Libyan authorities said Thursday.

The Arctic Metagaz, which was damaged in a suspected sea drone attack in March, is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet transporting fossil fuels in violation of international sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

The tanker, which is carrying liquefied natural gas, was being towed to a safe zone off the town of Zuwara on Libya’s western coast in an operation last week, according to Libya’s coast guard.

However, Libya’s Ports and Maritime Transport Authority said the towing operation failed at 4 a.m. local time on Thursday due to “harsh” weather conditions and strong winds that caused the tanker to drift “out of control.”

“The tanker is unable to return to redo the towing operation under these dangerous weather conditions,” the authority wrote in a statement, urging all vessels and naval units to maintain a distance of at least 10 nautical miles from the drifting tanker.

The Malta Today newspaper reported that the tanker was towed to the limits of Malta’s search and rescue zone.

Libya’s Ports and Maritime Transport Authority is urging vessels to report any change in the tanker’s status or if in case a leak or smoke was detected.

In March, the maritime authority said the Arctic Metagaz had experienced “sudden explosions, followed by a massive fire” about 240 kilometers (150 miles) off the Libyan coastal city of Sirte.

The vessel remained afloat and drifted towards Libya’s coast, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature, a global conservation organization.

Libya’s National Oil Corp. said last month that it was collaborating with Italian energy company Eni to safely bring the damaged tanker to the shore to avert an environmental crisis.