Five southern European nations are seeking an urgent solution for an unmanned Russian tanker drifting in the Mediterranean, warning the European Commission that it poses a major environmental threat, according to a letter confirmed by Spain’s government on Wednesday.
The Arctic Metagaz, part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” transporting sanctioned fossil fuels, was badly damaged in a suspected sea drone attack near Maltese waters earlier this month. The tanker, carrying liquefied natural gas, is now drifting without crew and a payload of explosive fuel.
In a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the leaders of Italy, Spain, Malta, Greece and Cyprus warned of an “imminent and serious risk” of a major ecological disaster and requested activation of the bloc’s civil protection mechanism. The five leaders urged a coordinated EU-level response, citing the tanker’s damaged condition and hazardous cargo.
“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,” they wrote. The leaders also highlighted broader risks from vessels operating outside international standards and said they would raise the issues at this week’s European Council meeting.
Earlier this week the tanker was adrift between Malta and the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, but has since moved closer to Libya, Maltese media reported. Italy’s undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano said Malta had imposed a 7km exclusion zone around the tanker, “because the vessel could explode at any moment.”
