Russia blames Ukrainian sea drones for attacking tanker that sank in Mediterranean

A Russian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied natural gas exploded and erupted in flames before sinking in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya, authorities in the North African country said on Wednesday (March 4, 2026), and Russia blamed the sinking on an attack by Ukrainian sea drones.

According to the Libyan Maritime Authority, there were “sudden explosions, followed by a massive fire” on the Arctic Metagaz on Tuesday (March 3, 2026), while the LNG carrier was about 240 km off the coast of the Libyan city of Sirte.

The tanker, carrying 61,000 tons of LNG, “completely sank” between Libya and Malta, a statement said. All 30 crew members were rescued and put on another vessel heading to the Libyan city of Benghazi, it said.

Russia’s Transport Ministry said that the vessel was hit by Ukrainian sea drones launched from the Libyan coast. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment on the accusation.

Previous Ukrainian attacks on Russian ships have reportedly come from the Libyan coast, though Kyiv officials haven’t publicly confirmed those reports.

In the past, Ukraine’s military has said that it used sea drones to sink Russian vessels in the Black Sea as part of its efforts to fight back against Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began just over four years ago.