Nearly two months after the Russian LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz (IMO:9243148) was ripped apart in the eastern Mediterranean by an explosion likely caused by a Ukrainian drone attack (although no responsibility has been claimed), the wreck remains a danger to navigation and the environment, with no obvious solution in place. Libyan authorities last week issued a new alert that the wreck has broken free in the Mediterranean.
The Libyan Ports and Maritime Transport Authority said that the wreck broke its towline at midday local time on April 22nd when it was about 120nm north of Benghazi. The authority said that the towing cable snapped due to adverse weather conditions during the operation to hold the wreck offshore. It warned that the wreck was “completely out of control and adrift”.
The wreck of the Arctic Metagaz had broken away from the tugs several times since the operation began to hold it offshore, near the edge of the Libyan EEZ and away from its offshore oil and gas operations. The latest report said that the tugboat was currently unable to reattach the vessel due to technical issues with the tug.
The wreck had drifted for weeks before it was stabilized in place, drifting back and forth with the currents and the winds. Finally it was heading towards Libyan landfall and action had to be taken. A series of tugs were used to hold the wreck offshore. The emergency committee formed to oversee the operation had called for more powerful tugs to be part of the operation, and the offshore operators were warned to have boats on standby if the wreck approached.
Libya’s oil company had said it was working to bring in an international salvage team in partnership with Italy’s Eni. Unfortunately the law of unintended consequences has come into play (as it has before when it comes to EU and US sanctions). The problem with undertaking a salvage operation on a sanctioned vessel is that this could put the salvor at risk of breaching sanctions unless it volunteered to do it for nothing.
Libya had explored bringing the wreck into a port, but it seemed unlikely that Livya had a port with the facilities to cope with it, given that it could have explosive quantities of natural gas still trapped in its tanks. It also has nearly 1,000 tons of fuel aboard.
A group of Mediterranean states has called on the IMO to help organize a salvage effort. Russia has said that the vessel is not its problem, saying that it devolves to Libya. The Libyans in turn have said that Russia must also issue an official letter of abandonment.
At the moment the warning is for ships to remain at least five nautical miles from the wreck and to report any change in the status of the vessel. The wreck has remained afloat, with the water ingress appearing to have been stopped by the subdivisions and LNG tanking systems.
2003-built, Russia-flagged, 93,844 gt Arctic Metagaz is owned by Lathyrus Shipping Co care of manager Ocean Speedstar Solutions (OPC) Pvt Ltd of Mumbai, India. ISM manager is SMP Techmanagement LLC of St Petersburg, Russia.