Russian tanker reportedly on fire in Mediterranean sea, media reports
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being update.
A Russian-flagged liquified natural gas (LNG) tanker, the Arctic Metagaz, has reportedly caught fire in the Mediterranean sea, multiple media outlets reported on March 3.
Reuters reported, citing various maritime sources, that the U.S., EU, and U.K. sanctioned tanker was reportedly on fire near the coast of Malta, while other publications pinpoint the fire originating closer to the Libyan coast.
Photos and videos posted to social media of the reported fire appear to show large flames emanating from the ship in the early hours of March 3. No information was available on the status of the ship's crew.
One source tole Reuters that the fire may have been caused by a Ukrainian naval drone attack, although those reports have not been confirmed.
The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify the details around the cause of the reported fire. Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the reports.
The vessels is suspected of being part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers, consisting of ships that rely on opaque ownership, flags of convenience, and irregular shipping practices to move Russian oil despite Western restrictions.
Kyiv continues to escalate its campaign against Russian oil and gas infrastructure, a key source of Moscow's revenues helping to fuel its all-out invasion of Ukraine.
In recent months, Ukraine has ramped up its attacks on Russian tankers using sea drone, with Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) claiming to have struck two sanctioned Russian oil tankers, Kairos and Virat, off Turkey's Black Sea coast in late November. The SBU said on Dec. 10 that it used Sea Baby naval drones to strike an oil tanker from Russia's shadow fleet in the Black Sea, claiming that it had critically damaged the ship.
In December 2025, Kyiv struck a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, a source in the SBU told the Kyiv Independent, in neutral waters more than 2,000 kilometers from Ukraine.
Ukraine also routinely launches deep strikes against military and industrial facilities in Russia, primarily relying on domestically developed drones.
