Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Saturday that it had signed a contract with a specialized company to service a damaged Russian tanker carrying LNG that is drifting towards the Libyan coast. This was reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
According to the NOC, the tanker Arctic Metagaz will be towed to a Libyan port, and the country's oil facilities are not at risk of contamination.
Italy, France, Spain, and six other southern EU members last week appealed to the European Commission, warning that the tanker posed an "imminent and serious threat of a major environmental disaster."
The NOC noted that the environmental threat "can be controlled to a very large extent" and that an emergency center has been established to coordinate operations with relevant authorities.
Addition
The vessel, which transports LNG from the Arctic port of Murmansk, has been uncrewed since early March, when the Russian Ministry of Transport reported that it had been hit by Ukrainian naval drones.
The tanker remained out of control after damage off the coast of Libya in recent days and gradually moved towards the shore under the influence of wind and waves, the NOC said, adding that the emergency contract was concluded through Mellitah Oil and Gas in cooperation with Italy's Eni (ENI.MI).
An Italian official said on Friday that the tanker is estimated to be carrying 450 metric tons of heavy fuel oil and 250 tons of diesel fuel as bunkers, as well as an "undetermined" amount of LNG, which may have partially regasified and dispersed.