Overview
- Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said maritime and aerial drones struck the LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz in neutral waters on March 3.
- The ship was 168 nautical miles southeast of Malta carrying about 100,000 cubic metres of LNG and a 30‑member Russian crew when it lost power, caught fire and exploded.
- All crew evacuated by lifeboat and were picked up by a tanker by 8:30 pm the same day, with no deaths reported.
- Two sailors suffered severe burns and, according to Russia, were denied evacuation assistance by Malta before being transported by Libya’s rescue service to a hospital in Benghazi and flown to Russia on March 10.
- Zakharova labeled the incident a gross violation of international law and a terrorist attack, while accusing Western media of falsely portraying it as an onboard fire and noting a lack of European condemnation.