BRUSSELS – Nine European nations have sounded the alarm about a Russian natural gas tanker floating without power in the Mediterranean Sea, warning European Union officials that the vessel could trigger a major environmental catastrophe.
Italy and France led the group of countries in sending an urgent message to the European Commission on Monday, expressing grave concerns about the current state of the ship and its dangerous 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,” the correspondence obtained by Reuters stated.
According to Russia’s transportation department, the ship known as Arctic Metagaz was transporting liquefied natural gas from Murmansk, an Arctic port, when it came under assault from Ukrainian naval drones that were reportedly launched from Libya’s coastline earlier this month. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed their involvement in any such operation against the vessel.
