TUNIS, March 30. /TASS/. Egypt’s Mardave tugboat, operating on behalf of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), is giving a tow to Russian gas carrier Arctic Metagaz, which was damaged in an attack off the coast of Libya, Khaled Gulam, a spokesman for an emergency committee handling the incident, told a TASS correspondent.
According to him, "the vessel is currently located approximately 62 nautical miles off the country’s coast." "In recent days, the operation has faced a number of difficulties due to adverse weather conditions. What's more two days ago, the towline broke, which complicated the process. The operation is currently ongoing and remains technically challenging," Gulam pointed out.
On March 3, the Russian Transport Ministry reported that the Arctic Metagaz gas carrier had been attacked in the Mediterranean Sea by Ukrainian drone boats near Malta’s territorial waters. According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the gas carrier, which was transporting 100,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas, lost propulsion and power, and a fire and gas explosion occurred on board. All 30 crew members managed to leave the vessel; however, two sailors were injured.