A Russian LNG Tanker Caught Fire in the Mediterranean Sea 0 86

A tanker for transporting liquefied natural gas, Arctic Metagaz, caught fire in the Mediterranean Sea. This was reported by Reuters. The vessel did not send distress signals and did not provide information about the condition of the crew or cargo.

It is claimed that the vessel, which is under sanctions from the US and UK, sails under the Russian flag, similar information is provided by shipping tracking portals VesselFinder and MarineTraffic.

According to one source, who did not provide evidence, the vessel may have been attacked by a marine drone, with Ukraine suspected of carrying out this operation. Officially, Kyiv has not commented on such information.

The Greek publication Naftemporiki writes that the vessel may have been attacked around 04:00 local time, followed by several explosions; however, there is currently no confirmation of these reports.

The last time the tanker reported its location was on Monday, March 2, when it was off the coast of Malta. As noted by gCaptain, the tanker left the port of Murmansk on February 24 after loading cargo.

A representative of the Greek company Diaplous Group, specializing in maritime security and risk management, confirmed to gCaptain journalists the fact of the fire.

"We can confirm that this happened, but we have no further details," he said.

It was previously reported that the freight rates for supertankers in the Middle East have risen to record levels. The reason for this trend was the escalation of the US-Iran conflict, during which Iran threatened to attack vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.