A gas tanker believed to form part of Russia’s shadow fleet exploded in the early hours of Tuesday morning in waters between Malta and Libya, with sources telling the Times of Malta the vessel was “likely” attacked by enemy fire.Sources said the LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz was destroyed at around 4am, with several explosions reported before the crew was evacuated and transferred to another vessel in the vicinity. It remains unclear whether the incident occurred within Malta’s search and rescue (SAR) region or Libya’s.Earlier this afternoon, the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) Malta within the Armed Forces of Malta was informed of a distress situation involving the merchant vessel MT Arctic Metagaz while it was transiting the central Mediterranean, outside Malta’s Search and Rescue (SAR) area.Upon receiving the alert, RCC Malta initiated verification procedures to establish the vessel’s exact position. The ship was subsequently located, and coordination efforts were carried out in line with international search and rescue obligations, including navigational broadcasts to nearby shipping and liaison with the relevant international authorities.During the search operation, survivors were found within the Libyan Search and Rescue Region (SRR) in a lifeboat. All crew members were reported safe and accounted for onboard the lifeboat.Unverified footage circulating on X appeared to show the ship engulfed in flames. One source described the incident to Times of Malta as a “deflagration”, adding that “there was a huge explosion on board.” View this post on InstagramA post shared by Lovin Malta (@lovinmalta)Maritime security firm EOS Risk Group said the vessel was reportedly struck by a drone while sailing eastbound in the Mediterranean, southeast of Malta. The company noted there had been no distress signal and no confirmed information about the condition of the crew or cargo.EOS added that Arctic Metagaz has been under US and UK sanctions since 2024. The tanker had departed Murmansk on 24th February after loading cargo at a floating storage unit and was believed to be heading towards the Suez Canal.A representative from Greece-based maritime security company Diaplous Group confirmed to maritime news website gCaptain that the vessel was on fire but said further details were not immediately available. No distress signals were recorded.Security sources also indicated the tanker had switched off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) for roughly 300 kilometres prior to the incident, reportedly following a so-called “grey route” to avoid restrictions and embargoes.Sources familiar with the situation said the risk of environmental damage to Malta was considered low, as the vessel was believed to be carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG).The explosion comes weeks after Reuters reported that three oil tankers were damaged in separate blast incidents across the Mediterranean, with the causes remaining unknown.In December, Ukraine reportedly struck the Russian-linked tanker Qendil with drones in the Mediterranean, marking what was described as the first shadow fleet attack outside the Black Sea.Opposition leader Alex Borg said he had spoken with Prime Minister Robert Abela regarding the explosion, noting that the incident occurred within Malta’s SAR zone.Borg said the Opposition had offered its support and requested to be kept informed of developments.Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri and Opposition shadow minister Darren Carabott were also present for the discussion.Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said the Armed Forces of Malta were alerted to a distress situation outside Malta’s SAR zone, confirmed all crew were found safe in a lifeboat within the Libyan SRR, and noted that the matter was discussed in Parliament in the national interest, with ongoing monitoring of the situation.•